Death is inevitable. I understand that the first statement was probably not the best to start with, but let’s go ahead and get that out of the way. Unless Christ comes first, we are going to die, the Bible says it plainly in Hebrews 9:27 “it is appointed for man to die once.”[1] Both physical and spiritual death entered mankind as a consequence of the Fall in Genesis 3. When man fell into sin death became his reward, “for you are dust, and to dust you shall return (v.19).” Again, in Romans 6:23, “for the wages of sin is death” but let us not forget the second portion of this verse, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As always God’s discipline is tempered with His mercy.
By the way, I know you didn’t me to quote Scripture for you to know that you and I both are going to die. We all have been alive long enough to get that concept, but I wanted you to know a little about what God’s Word has to say about it, why it is, and what it is not. What it is not-if you are a Christian-is final, death is not the final destination for those who have trusted in Christ. Look at what Jesus has to say to Martha after Lazarus has died, “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25,26)” He wanted Martha and all of us to understand that if we place our faith in Him as Savior, then death has no dominion of us. Then He pops the question, “Do you believe this?” That is a powerful question, and it is not only posed to Martha, but to us as well. Do we believe that there is life to be had in Christ after our body passes through physical death? No matter what your answer to that is I want to direct you to John 3:16,17 because-frankly-I think we all need a refresher from time to time.
I intentionally tried to keep it short this week for the sake of the reader. Sometimes, there is a tendency to overload with information and quotes. But I would like to finish by saying this. What comes after death should not be feared by the Christian. For the persons who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will be rewarded with eternal life, and live in the presence Jesus Christ (see again, Romans 6:23b). For the Christian we look forward to what is beyond death itself, the act of dying can be frightening and I will not try to belittle that at all. We know death can come in many forms today such as car accidents, disease and sickness, and many other ways. We don’t look forward to the pain and suffering that may accompany the act, even Christ didn’t want to face that pain and anguish that was to come in dying (see, Matthew 26:39). Yet, Christ looked passed the pain of death to glorifying His Father, and to the future glorification of those that would trust in Him.
So, my conclusion is that we should not fear what is beyond the door of death “IF” we can answer the question Jesus asked Martha “do you believe this” with a yes. Because it is just as Mother Teresa said, “Death is nothing else but going home to God, the bond of love will be unbroken for all eternity.”[2]
As always, if you have not placed your faith in trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I implore you to do so. Tomorrow is not promised, and neither is the next five minutes, so don’t put off what could be yours right now. The debt of sin has been paid and the offer of eternal life has been made, so what are you going to do with it?
Blessings,
Pat
[1] All Scripture quotations taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted.
[2] http://wisdomquotes.com/death-quotes/