Death is inevitable. When my time comes, I can hardly think of a better way to go than Rev. Jack Arnold, pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church outside Orlando, Florida. He was in the pulpit preaching and died in mid-sentence of a sermon after saying “And when I go to heaven…” And just like that, he fell down dead. Several members of the congregation who had medical training attempted to revive him, but it seems he had died instantly. He was 69 years old.
Immediately prior to collapsing he had quoted John Wesley who said, “Until my work on this earth is done, I am immortal. But when my work for Christ is done … I go to be with Jesus.” Clearly his work on this earth was complete and the Lord decided that it was time to call him home. As his associate pastor said, “It was traumatic, but how wonderful it was he died in his own church among the people he loved the most.”
I would consider it the highest honor to be in the midst of proclaiming the Word of God when my time comes.
