“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!” - Psalm 39:4
With the current pandemic in full flower, we should take some time to consider the fragility of our lives as well as the inevitability of our deaths. But how many of us actually do? It seems that such thoughts are morbid to most of us, especially those who are without faith. So death, specifically our own, remains a taboo subject for us. Yet from the moment of birth, death’s locus remains before us like the sunset which is also by the mandate of God. “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” - Ecclesiastes 12:7.
Sickness befalls all of us at one time or another. There are no guarantees. Yes, God can heal us if He so chooses. If He so chooses. With that in mind, why would we not want to be in His good graces? Certainly, we pray for our loved one’s recovery from illness but such recoveries are not always granted. How do we deal with our own impending departure from this silenced mortality?
For people with faith in God, death comes the same as for those without. But the lives we live here in the flesh are but a shadow of the lives we will live in eternity. Those who do not believe in the afterlife hold a darkened view of death the hereafter. And well they should since the lives they have lived in darkness result in everlasting darkness. “Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” - Matthew 22:13. The faithless worry not because they have no faith. They fear not because they do not believe.
We are, however, assured that the day is coming and for many of us the time will be upon us without warning. “For, ‘Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay . . .’” - Hebrews 10:37. In Christ’s own words we must prepare for the inevitable. “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” - Matthew 24:44. We have been given fair warning.
As for those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross, God has been very specific. “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. It is only through faith in Jesus that we will enter an eternity in heaven. There is no other way.
Just as there is no other way to eternal life for those who have accepted the gift of Christ’s atonement, there is also no further fear of our past sins because our faith in Christ has unburdened us. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” - Romans 8:1.
Our sins have been forgiven and Christ has delivered us from the depraved state we were born in. We have been washed in the blood of Christ and we have been renewed before God. Our parting of this earth is no longer subject to the power of death’s sting “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” - Psalm 116:15. For we must remember that death is the last obstacle keeping our souls from reconciliation with God. Death is the last bulwark between God and ourselves. After the death of one of God’s own there is nothing but bliss. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” - 1 Corinthians 15:26.
Death will knock on many doors today. It could knock upon mine or yours. It is a fearful contemplation that fills our minds when we consider that possibility. Many fear what they perceive as ‘the unknown.’ While others fear the process of death and how we will feel during our final reaping. Many will tremble at the mere thought of both. But faith in God through Jesus Christ will prepare us for the inevitable. Our fear will be turned into awe as our beliefs are reflected in our behavior. “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile . . .” - 1 Peter 1:17.
May we all experience God’s loving grace and mercy as we approach our earthly sunset.
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