Behold I Die

"And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and shall bring you again unto the land of your fathers."  Genesis 48:21.  Israel had lived to see the son that had been taken from him so long ago.  The reunion was sweet.  But now, Israel, or Jacob, must die.  His pilgrimage upon the earth was coming to a close.  One day each one of us will say, Behold, I die.  Death is the appointed end of all.  Some die in infancy.  Some die in youth.  And, some live enough years to see old age.  But, finally all will die.  The grim reaper will visit each one.  Our years upon the earth, regardless of how many, will come to a close.  The curtain of our life will fall.  It does not really matter how many years we live, but how well we have lived.  Are we serving God?  Are we preparing for the life that awaits us beyond the grave?  Our earthly life is very short compared to the eternity that awaits us.  We were born to live forever, just not upon the earth.  We are traveling toward a destiny.  How will the end of life find us?  God will either judge us to be saved or lost.  God will either accept us or He will reject us.  Let us so live that we may say at the moment of our death, Behold, I am translated into life forever.