Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

-John 3:3

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

-Ezekiel 36:26

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.

-I Peter 1:23

Why was the rich man in Luke 12 a fool? And He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? -Luke 12:16-20

When traveling from a funeral home to a graveyard, a certain minister rode with the mortician in the hearse. The undertaker remarked to the minister that he did not believe in a person being "born again" as the minister had stated during the funeral service.
The minister thought for a moment and responded by asking, "Have you ever heard Jesus' statement, 'Let the dead bury their dead'?"
"Yes, but to be honest it doesn't make any sense to me," the undertaker answered.
"I'm afraid it's taking place right now," the minister replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Sir, if you are not born again, if you are not spiritually alive, then you are spiritually dead. Then the spiritually dead are burying the physically dead."

How does this story illustrate the truth that spiritual life or death begins in one's temporal life on earth, not the life hereafter?

Due to the irreversible, eternal state pronounced upon us after our death, our short lifetime on earth is very important. Our lifetime on earth is our God-given time to be saved, our time of grace. Its results produce eternal consequences,

Are you valuing your God-given time on earth? Are you seeking God by diligently and prayerfully using His means of grace? Are temporal things or eternal matters most important to you?