Who Will Go with Me?

Who Will Go with Me?

By Richard Maffeo

American fiction writer, Madeline Le’Engle (d. 2007) tells a poignant tale of her grandfather. He’d always been a strong, vibrant, robust man – until the dementia demon grabbed hold of his mind and slowly reduced the nearly 100-year-old to a shadow of what he once was.

Madeline tells how while he lay dying, he gripped her mother’s hand and asked, almost as a child might ask, “Who will go with me when I die?”

Those words have haunted me since I heard of them. As I pictured the scene in my mind, the once powerful, domineering, ‘in-charge’ guy had become as a small frightened child. I know nothing of the man’s place in Christ. I do not know if he ever humbled himself before the cross of Jesus. But if he had, Oh! What comfort someone could have given the frightened child inside the man.

I minister each week to many men and women in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. A few attend my weekly Bible studies and Sunday sermons. Most of them, however, do not. I am unsure why.

When I read Madeline’s grandfather’s plaintive plea, “Who will go with me when I die?” I wondered again how many of those once-robust men and women I meet each week will be dead before the end of this year.

But most important, as they one day lay on their death beds, will they each know for certain that Jesus will go with them, that He will hold their hand as they journey the valley of the shadow of death together?

Oh! How I hope so.

And – what about you? Whatever your age, do you know for certain that Jesus will hold your hand through the valley every soul must some day journey through?

You CAN be certain. Truly, you can be certain. How?

Believe the Lord Jesus died to pay the penalty your sins deserve. Believe that He rose from the dead as proof that all your sins can be forgiven. Confess to Him your sins. Ask Him to cover them with His blood. Commit to obey Him the rest of your days. And if you have never been baptized as a Christian, follow the Lord in baptism. Then, it would be wise to start reading the Holy Scriptures to grow in your faith. There are numerous annual Bible reading plans on the internet. And if you are Catholic, begin receiving the Sacraments, especially of the Eucharist and Confession.

You can be certain about the answer to that important question: Who will go with you when you die. You can face the grave with an assurance that all, truly, is well.