The closing days of 2007 saw Pakistan thrown into turmoil by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. On the 27th December, on her way home from a political rally, as she climbed into her car, Bhutto died in a gun and bomb attack.

Seconds before the shots rang out she called to the surging crowd around her car:

“Long live Bhutto”

They were her last words. “She did not say anything more,” said Safdar Abbassi, her chief political adviser, who was sitting behind her.

"Long live Bhutto" — bang — dead.

And then? Then Benazir Bhutto found herself facing her maker and her judge.

My point is not to wonder about her soul, but yours. The only difference between Benazir Bhutto and us is a split second, a moment, a flash. That’s all that separates us from standing before our Judge. We don't know the time of the summons, but we do know that we won't miss our court appearance date by so much as a second.

“Long live me” – gone. Gone to judgment.

Yet we tend to live with the mindset of “Long live me!”. But we don’t know what the next moment holds. Solomon said, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring" (Proverbs 27:1).

Bhutto’s last words were a wish for long life; words that were, sadly, instantly shown to be futile. Who knows whether all of the readers of this column will be here in a year’s time to read it, or indeed, whether I will be here to write it.

So as another year lies before us like a blank canvas before a painter, take time to think about that day when you stand before the Judge to give account.