Not long ago I watched a movie called Blackbird. The story revolves around a woman who is suffering from a physically debilitating illness that will only get worse. Rather than lingering in what she feels would be an undignified manner, she convinces her husband, a doctor, to create a medical cocktail for her to end her life. Before doing so, she gathers her children to spend one last weekend with her. Though not in favor of her decision at first, they eventually accept it.

If this isn’t depressing enough, immediately after she drinks the death potion, the film ends with her asking her husband, “Where am I going?” He answers, “You tell me.” 

Her question and her husband’s ambiguous answer left a pit in my stomach. Given the premise of the film, it’s not that I expected she believed in God, but hearing her voice that question was a wake-up call to pay more attention to people in my life who, facing death, may not know the answer to that question: Where am I going?

Thankfully, believers in Christ have the answer because Christ himself provided it: “For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:40 NLT).

There is no ambiguity for Christ-followers. Where are we going? To live with Jesus! “And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it” (1 Peter 3:15 NLT).