I Don’t Know Where I’m Going

I Don’t Know Where I’m Going

These words are from the final article written by Gene Amole, a long-time columnist for Denver’s Rocky Mountain News. They appeared on May 13, 2002, the day after this popular 78 year-old newspaperman died.

When he learned that death was imminent, he turned his column into daily reflections on dying. He introduced them this way: “My diary is not going to be maudlin, self-serving glop. Some of it may even be amusing.”

In an editorial about Amole’s death, his publisher called him “an extraordinary person because he could communicate in such a direct and genuine way.” And that he did, as readers began learning about his family, the simple pleasures he enjoyed, even his favorite recipes for meat loaf and chili. His writing was “always personal, conversational and amusing.”

But his last column was anything but amusing. In it he wrote: “In life, we ask where have I been and where am I going? I have been to a lot of wonderful places, and am grateful for the journey. In death, I don’t know where I’m going or if I shall even exist.” Consider how those who loved him felt on reading these words. Consider how those who must have prayed for him, and shared the Good News with him, felt on learning that he entered eternity without Christ. Those who know the Bible know there are only two places one can go after death – heaven or hell (Lk. 16:19-31).

Did Gene Amole know the Bible? In his January 12, 2002 column, written the day after a bad night in which he felt sure he was going to die, he quoted 1 Corinthians 15:55 – “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” If he believed this verse, did he also believe the next two? “The sting of death is sin ... But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sadly, it would appear he did not.

Dear reader, don’t end your life like Gene Amole did – not knowing. Know where you are going. And make sure it’s heaven.

By Larry Ondrejack