Prepare to Die – Living with Purpose, Dying in Peace is a book that emerged from the trenches of the front lines of personal experience. I have officiated at over 900 funerals in my career as a pastor, I have been on scene at over 500 death occurrences as a police chaplain, and I have listened for hours and hours to unrelenting grief stories as a therapist.
Having worked for years in close proximity to death, I am fully aware that we live every moment on the brink. At every moment we could be just a heartbeat away from death. Yet so few are prepared to die and so few possess a peace about dying.
There is a line in a funeral prayer in the United Methodist Book of Worship that reads: “Help us to live as those who are prepared to die.” This book is about helping people live. It is about living purposefully and passionately, but I would contend that one cannot embrace life fully unless one is prepared to die.
When we speak of being prepared for death, we generally think of getting our affairs in order—wills and medical directives and funeral plans. But there is a preliminary and more primary issue that will be addressed in this book. To die in peace, one must have steadfast conviction and hope-filled confidence in what lies beyond death’s door.
It is troubling that so few Christians possess the ability to present a biblically grounded belief system about death and the afterlife. Too many have built a house upon the sands of empty philosophies and sentimentalism, which provide little solace or serenity at death.
Prepare to Die—Living with Purpose, Dying in Peace is a thought-provoking look at life and death that will cause you to pause and ponder frequently. It is a hope-filled book that will instill conviction and comfort as it dispels your misconceptions and fears about death. It contains timeless truths from Scripture, inspirational wisdom from influential voices throughout history, and therapeutic insights that will help the reader face death, and as a result live life more purposefully and passionately.
- Mark Bellows