美國前總統約翰．甘迺迪、哲學家兼作家阿道斯．赫胥黎（Aldous Huxley），以及基督教護教家魯益師，都於1963年11月22日這天逝世。這三位知名人士有截然不同的世界觀。赫胥黎是一位不可知論者，也涉足東方神秘主義。甘迺迪雖是天主教徒，卻提倡人文主義。魯益師曾是無神論者，後來加入英國聖公會，成為一個直言不諱的基督徒。「死亡」對每個人都很公平，這三位知名人士都在同一天接到死亡之約。

聖經告訴我們，自從亞當和夏娃在伊甸園裡悖逆了上帝，死亡就進入人類的世界（創世記3章），這是人類歷史上一個最悲哀的事實。「死亡」絕對公平，或許就像有人說的，任何人都無法逃避死亡的約會。這正是希伯來書9章27節的重點：「按著定命，人人都有一死，死後且有審判。」

面對自己的死亡之約，我們能從哪裡找到盼望？接下來又會發生什麼呢？答案就是在基督裡。羅馬書6章23節對此做了最好的詮釋：「罪的工價乃是死；惟有上帝的恩賜，在我們的主基督耶穌裡，乃是永生。」我們如何獲得這份恩賜呢？我們需要相信上帝的兒子耶穌基督，承認祂為我們受死，廢掉了死亡，並且從死裡復活，使我們能享受永遠的生命（提摩太後書1章10節）。

On November 22, 1963, US president John F. Kennedy, philosopher and writer Aldous Huxley, and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis all died. Three well-known men with radically different worldviews. Huxley, an agnostic, still dabbled in Eastern mysticism. Kennedy, though a Roman Catholic, held to a humanistic philosophy. And Lewis was a former atheist who as an Anglican became an outspoken believer in Jesus. Death is no respecter of persons as all three of these well-known men faced their appointment with death on the same day.

The Bible says that death entered the human experience when Adam and Eve disobeyed in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3)—a sad reality that has marked human history. Death is the great equalizer or, as one person put it, the appointment that no one can avoid. This is the point of Hebrews 9:27, where we read, “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”

Where do we find hope about our own appointment with death and what follows? In Christ. Romans 6:23 captures this truth perfectly: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” How did this gift of God become available? Jesus, the Son of God, died to destroy death and rose from the grave to offer us life forever (2 Timothy 1:10).