I had lunch at one of my favorite seafood restaurants today. There’s a lobster tank near the door like at most seafood eateries. The lobster tank is death row for these delicious crustaceans. Out of the ocean, now in the tank, they jostle for position and dominance in the tank, each trying to be king of the lobster hill. From my perspective, it seems futile to dominate their hundred-gallon tank when they’re only minutes from death. What’s the difference who’s on top on death row? If you order lobster, your server will lead you to the tank to pick your dinner. You’ll probably choose the dominant lobster. He’s the big guy on top. So much for dominance. Once you select, he has about 10 minutes to live. He’s had his last meal and he’ll soon be on your plate. The only saving grace for him is that he doesn’t know it. 

In some ways we’re like a lobster in the tank. Once they drop the lobster in the tank, that’s his world. It’s in his nature to dominate it. He’s not thinking about dying. He’s thinking about living and controlling his environment. Many of us are trying to control or dominate our world, forgetting that death can come suddenly and unexpectedly. That’s why we spend so much time trying to climb to the top, accumulating money, achieving higher social status, maintaining our youthful appearance, and trying to impress others. Jesus pointed out the futility of living for temporary treasures. He said in Matthew 16:26: For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul?”

We don’t know when we are going to die, but we know that we’re going to die. The timing of death is unpredictable. The fact of death is inescapable. Death is an unpleasant subject. Few want to think about it. The process can be painful and terrifying, but hat’s no excuse to be unprepared for it. Eternity is a long time. It’s sheer foolishness to try to control the seventy- or eighty-years God has given us on earth, yet not prepare for where we will spend eternity. 

If you want to travel to Bermuda, you book a flight there and pack warm weather clothes. When you get to the airport, you take great care to hop on the right plane. It will take you where you want to go. That’s all preparing for death is. Where do you want to go? You have two choices. Heaven is better than the best place you can imagine. Hell is the opposite. Both last for eternity. You get to choose. It doesn’t matter if you’re the biggest lobster in the tank if you haven’t prepared for your death. It will be too late then. You need to trust in Jesus now. He’s already paid for your soul by dying on the cross for your sin.