Beyond Death’s Darkened Corner - John 8:24

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.- John 8:24

    Imagine for a moment that you are alone and walking in a very dark place (actually, we all are - it’s called “the world”, and we ARE all alone). Now as you are walking in this very dark place, you come to a point where the road turns, but your view of what is waiting beyond that corner is obscured. It’s dark and up until now what little light you have has at least allowed you to travel this far . . . alone. You have heard about this dark corner, this gloomy threshold. Others have had varying opinions about what lies beyond the darkness, though none have ever gone there and returned. Your heartbeat is elevated; your pulse is beating rapidly. Your breathing is growing more intense. Let me stop here for the moment: are you comfortable? Are you happily and enthusiastically looking forward to turning that dark corner into - for all you know, oblivion?
    Now allow me to give you something for your journey, something that any reasonable human being would like to have for such a darkened sojourn; a light. “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” - John 8:12.
    In the above scenario, I have metaphorically described our walk through this world and our innate fear of death. None of us know what lies beyond the darkened veil because none of us have ever gone there and returned, regardless of what the liars and hucksters have tried to convince us of. So why wouldn’t we want to know beyond a shadow of doubt what awaits us? And with a light, we can have confidence that we can know what lies around that corner.
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” - John 14:2. True believing Christians know these words to be true. God has never lied to us nor will He ever lie to us!
    The darkness that enshrouds our thoughts about the afterlife stems from fear, fear from what we know and fear from that which we do not know. Only fear awaits all those who die in the darkness of the world. And there is ample reason for that fear -
 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” - Matthew 10:28. We all know where such fear comes from. It comes from our wondering whether or not we have done all we needed to do to obtain our salvation in heaven or whether our shoddy human “works” have merited us only an eternity in hell. I can guarantee you that if good works were the ticket, anyone could purchase salvation. “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” - Isaiah 64:6.  We will never produce works which make us worthy of heaven! “ . . .  knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” - Galatians 2:16
    Praying to icons and “saints” will do nothing to forestall what can only be conquered by Christ Himself! Novenas, rosaries, the stations of the cross are all futile in reaching out to God! There is but one Way. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” - John 14:6. One Way and only one Mediator between man and God - “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” - 1 Timothy 2:5. The wise will in no way ignore these words!
    Knowing what Scripture has revealed to us, we then must know that there is but one way to cast off the fear of death -  “ . . . that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” - Romans 10:9-13.
    We spend our time trying to beat death because we fear death! The “Good News”, the Gospel, tells us there is no good reason for the Christian to fear death because there is a Light that lies beyond its darkened corner. Freedom awaits, without reservation - “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” - John 8:31-32. Abide in Christ’s word, in His truth, and you will be free! Free of the fear of death!
    As death approaches us, we should spend our energies preparing to meet Christ, rather than futilely seeking a way to avoid the inevitable. The fact that we all must die shows us the value of our time here. We should spend our time wisely, seeking Christ and His grace, rather than vainly trying to beat death. We must seek Christ and the freedom from death that He alone provides. Let us join Paul in declaring both boldly and bravely  - “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” - 1 Corinthians 15:55.