Someone once asked famous evangelist Billy Graham what surprised

him most about life, now that he was old (Graham was in his 60s at the

time). Graham’s answer? “The brevity of it.”

No question, life goes by quickly.

What do the following texts teach about human life here? Ps. 49:17; 1 Tim.

6:6, 7; Ps. 39:11; James 4:14; Eccles. 2:18–22.

Not only does life go by quickly, but also when you die, you take

nothing with you, at least of the material goods that you have accu-

mulated. (Character? That’s another story.) “For when he dies he shall

carry nothing away” (Ps. 49:17, NKJV), which means that he or she

leaves it behind for someone else to get. Who will get it, of course,

depends upon what plans are made beforehand.

Though, of course, not everyone has an estate per se. Some people,

particularly as they have worked through the years, have accumulated

some wealth. In the end, what will happen to that wealth after you pass

on is really an important question that people should consider.

For those who have possessions at the end of life, no matter how

great or small they might be, estate planning can be our final act of

stewardship, of carefully managing what God has blessed us with.

If you don’t have an estate plan that you have created with a will

or trust, the state’s or civil government’s laws can come into play

(all this depends, of course, on where you live). If you die without

a will, most civil jurisdictions simply pass your assets on to your

relatives, whether they need them or not, whether or not they would

make good use of the money, and whether or not you would have

chosen to give a portion to that person. The church will get noth-

ing. If that’s what you want, fine; if not, you need to work out plans

beforehand.

In the simplest terms, we can say that because God is the Owner of

everything (see Ps. 24:1), it would be logical to conclude from a bibli-

cal perspective that when we are finished with what God has entrusted

to us, we should return to Him, the rightful Owner, what is left, once

the needs of loved ones are met.

Death, as we know, can come at any time, and unexpectedly, too,

even today. What would happen to your loved ones were you to

die today? What, too, would happen to your property? Would it

be distributed as you would like?