If only we all knew

The man approaching the ice cream bus was, well, weathered. I would never venture to guess his age because I somehow knew that I would be wrong. I instinctively felt that he was much younger than he looked. He was unbelieveably skinny. He wore a faded denim shirt, only one button holding it together. As he stepped up onto the deck, the wind caught the shirt and that last button released its hold, revealing a rib cage without an ounce of fat. His wispy white hair was covered by a straw, cowboy hat. When he smiled at me, I nearly stepped back, there were only a few teeth remaining.
"Today is a special day and I am treating myself to some ice cream," he grinned.
I just stared at him for a moment. He sounded as if he may be a bit intoxicated, but his blue eyes were as clear as the sky above.
"Ice cream is always a great treat," I replied. "Why is today special?"
He gave me his order, and as I began to scoop, he tells me that today is his birthday.
"Well, Happy Birthday!" I exclaimed.
"It is my last one" he stated.
That sentence got my attention. I turned to look at him.
"What makes you say that?" I asked
I felt frozen as he proceeded to tell me that he has liver cancer, and has been given only a few months to live. I placed an extra scoop on his cone, and looked him right in that clear, blue eye.
"Do you know where you are going when you die?"
"I have a one-way ticket straight to hell" he laughed.
"Jesus loves you, and you actually have an advantage because you know when you are going to die. Many people do not know. You have time to accept God's great gift and spend eternity with him."
I spent the next few minutes explaining how he could know that he was going to go to heaven.
He smiled and thanked me. As he walked away, I thought to myself how different this world could be if only we all knew. Life is a precious gift that humans often take for granted.
"...For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."