As Jan and I were walking through the historic cemetery in our small town, we passed by our grave sites. We bought those sites over 20 years ago when we first moved to town. We had the grave marker installed  a couple of years ago, so our kids wouldn’t have to worry about that issue when the time comes for one of us to leave this world. 

As we walked by our grave site, Jan said, “This is the one piece of real estate we don’t have to pay taxes on.” We both laughed.

Benjamin Franklin was famous for saying, “In this world, nothing is said to be certain except death and taxes.”  The writer of Hebrews said about death, “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment” Hebrews 9:27).  

What preceded verse 27 was verse 24, “He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.” Jesus is waiting in Heaven for each believer who chose to follow Him.  As He is seated on His throne in eternity, His blood continues to cover all our sins. 

When Jesus called His first disciple, He said, “Come, follow Me.” Any judgment we will face in eternity will be mediated by Jesus with the evidence of His blood. That judgment will reveal who we followed in this life and how we chose to live our lives under His blood covering.

It’s wise to hire a good accountant to limit our tax burden. But having a good account is not the most important decision we will make. We cannot increase the inevitability of our death, and that is why a relationship with the Lord is the most important decision we will make in this life. 

Each of us will leave behind a legacy. How we have lived our lives will write the script of that legacy. Jan and I read the text we had inscribed on our headstone, “together in His presence.” We then continued our morning walk at peace with God and with each other, because what will happen to us after we leave this life has already been settled.