ASK THE PASTOR WITH DALE RATZLAFF | Pastor and Founder, Life Assurance Ministries (1936–2024)
Pastor Ratzlaff, don’t you ever worry about whether you are saved? You are not a young man anymore—don’t you experience fear when you think about death?
As I review my short journey of 75 years, I see death from many perspectives. My first encounter was when I was 10 years old. My father suddenly became ill, and my mother, with my sister and me squeezed into the front seat so Daddy could lie down in the back, drove most of the night in our old ’42 Ford to the hospital. The next day after X-rays, we took him to the large Duke hospital in Durham, NC. There we learned that he had pancreatic cancer, and it had spread throughout his body. About six weeks later on a beautiful spring day I watched as my Dad was lowered into the dark, cold ground. Shock, questions, crying, uncertainty, and—now what? But life went on.
My next brush with death was when I thought I was dying. I knew I was not ready to meet the Lord even though I had followed many of the good rules of religion. This encounter with being close to death changed my life. In desperation, seeking some kind of assurance, I recalled 1 John 1:9—and suddenly, in my late twenties, for the first time in my life I realized that my responsibility was to confess myself as a sinner and accept the fact that God would freely forgive me. He would cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
In recent years there have been a few times that I thought I might be near death again, but no longer was there any fear of meeting my Savior.
In recent years there have been a few times that I thought I might be near death again, but no longer was there any fear of meeting my Savior.
Several years ago my 99 3/4 year old mother passed away. It was a sad time filled with many sweet memories of family and youth, but for her it was welcome relief from a tired and worn-out body.
These encounters with death on my short journey have taught me the lesson of readiness. We know not what the next moment may bring. “Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart,” is good, biblical teaching. So as you read the near-death-bed interview in this issue of Proclamation! place yourself in Stanley Rouhe’s position of knowing that there will be no tomorrow here “under the sun”. Ask yourself all the questions. What does your journey of life look like from this perspective? Do you know you are saved? What or who are you trusting for your righteousness? From this perspective, knowing that no moving van will follow you to the grave, what values are you pursuing today that will make “that day” a day when you receive rewards instead of seeing your work burned up (1 Cor. 3:10-15)?
The promises of God’s word bring hope to those facing death. They are worth memorizing so in that hour they will bring you comfort and hope.
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake” (Phil. 1:21-24).
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die'” (Jn. 11:25-26). †
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