My fellow believers, we could not but cry when we were born and will have to cry when we die, too. Even if the way we live seems different from one another, the end of our lives is inevitably the same: eternal destruction. You and I were all born with the fate of entering the fires of hell. 

Do our lives turn out well if we try? Is there anything that goes well in our lives just because we try hard to achieve it? Satan is the one who says, “You can do it if you just try.” Many of those before us lived diligently, believing that saying. But did they all live happily until they died? Take a microphone and have interviews with the deceased.

Go before a grave and say, “Sorry, I know you’re sleeping. I am a reporter. I’ll ask you about just one thing. Did you try hard while living on this earth or not?”

“Yes, I did.”

“So, did you believe in the philosophy that things would turn out well if you tried?”

“I did.”

“So, did you try because you thought that everything would turn out well, no matter what it was?”

“Yes, I believed that, and I tried hard while living.”

“So, did things happen like you believed?”

“No, they didn’t.”

“OK, thank you.”

If you go to some other graves, you will hear others say, 

“I received the teaching of this world that said things would turn out well if I tried hard and lived accordingly, but it didn’t work.” 

Even if you go before several more graves and interview each one, you will hear that they died in desperation and nothing was accomplished from 100% of them. That’s right. There isn’t anyone in this world who has accomplished anything by his will. A person would be happy if just a tenth of what he hoped for was accomplished by his endeavors. They’d be happy with just a tenth of their expectations. People tried a lot all their lives, but man’s power is nothing. Things don’t turn out well by trying. 

We Must Meet Jesus Who Is God’s Righteousness 

My fellow believers, people who are lost before God must meet Him. He will then bless them, lead them in the blessed way.

If people want to live blessed lives, they must first meet the Good Shepherd. They must meet Jesus. They must receive the remission of their sins in their hearts by meeting Jesus. They must receive the remission of all their sins through Jesus Christ who is the Son of God. Jesus is our Savior. He took all our sins. He saved us from all our sins. He clothed us in the complete grace of salvation by taking all our sins on His body through His baptism and by receiving judgment for them on the Cross. Only people who have the Shepherd and receive the Lord in their hearts enjoy true peace. When the Good Shepherd leads them into green pastures and beside the still waters, those sheep who have met Him live while being filled, obtaining rest, and are peacefully protected for the first time."

Paul C Jong