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For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. –Luke 20:38

A casual reading of tombstones in a local cemetery will teach you a great lesson about LIFE! Most tombstones have a birthdate and date of death. The only thing separating these two dates is a dash (“—”). Strange how a person’s life can be reduced to a simple line about an inch long. In reality, the birth and death dates are not as important as what went on in between those dates.

As you read through the Bible you will notice God rarely gives the details surrounding the death of characters in the Bible. There are exceptions as in the deaths of Moses, Samson, Judas, Stephen and Jesus. But as a general rule, God doesn’t dwell on the death of His saints. That is because the Bible is a book about LIFE, not death (Phil. 2:16). God is more concerned about how a man lived, not how he died.

How you finish is more important than how you begin. Unfortunately, too often when someone “retires” they “flat tire.” Consider Moses’ final days (Dt. 31-34). He stayed busy and worked for God right up to the very end! On the day of his death he composed a lengthy song, taught it to the children of Israel, then climbed 4000 feet to the top of Mount Nebo to view Canaan. He did all this when he was 120 years old!

Let’s keep on climbing to higher ground for the glory of God. You’ll enjoy the view a whole lot more at the top!