The Great Divide

The Great Divide The grave divides this world from the Hereafter. The next world lies across this great divide. Today we are on this side of the divide; tomorrow we will cross it. All living men will taste death; no one will be able to escape it. But man is oblivious of death—the greatest reality of life. We have all seen people entering the grave never to return, but few of us realize that we are also going to meet the selfsame fate. The door of the grave will open for us and then close on us for ever. How strange it is that man witnesses others dying every day, but himself lives as if he was never going to die. He can see others being summoned before God every day, but he excludes himself from death’s list; he acts as if he was never going to come before the Lord to be judged. We are closer to death than life. If we could realize this we would look on everyone’s death as our own; it would seem as if we ourselves were being carried to the grave when we saw someone else’s funeral. When Words Fail Every soul shall taste death. Those who see will become sightless and those who speak will be silenced. When death overtakes us, we will leave this world behind and enter the next world. We will leave this world never to return and enter a world in which we will have to abide for ever. We will be removed from the worldly arena of our actions to an arena where we must suffer the eternal consequences of our deeds. We are closer to death than life. People think they are alive, but it would be truer to say that they are dead, for no one knows when death will come. Death is already upon us. It is not a future event. Everyone is moving towards death. Some set their eyes on the world, others on eternity; some live for that which meets the eye, others for that which lies beneath the surface. In this world both types of people appear the same but, in relation to their final destination, they are very different. Those who live God-oriented lives are safe, while those who live self-oriented lives are destroying themselves.