Death Has No Sting
Death…it may not be a cuss word, but we all try to avoid it like it is. Especially when you’re younger and you think you’ve got all the time in the world, but the older you get, the more relevant it becomes, as you watch friends and family go on to their heavenly home. Often times, we get a medical diagnosis and the odds are not in our favor. If we’re not careful, we can let the fear of death rob of us of any real time we have left, dreading the inevitable.
As believers, we should not fear death…I know…easier said than done. But hear me out because I’m preaching to myself. We should all be on the same page in our beliefs that when we die, we no longer inhabit our bodies (Earth Suits, as Pastor calls them) but instead, our souls have gone on to be with Jesus. So, if eternity with the Lord is our destination, why are we afraid to die? I’m thinking it’s just an unfortunate side-effect of being human…selfishness. We want more time with our loved ones here on earth. In a way, though, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing…it’s not like we’re just all waiting to die. I think the book of Philippians can give us an example of how we should regard death.
Paul is talking with the people of Philippi, and I’m no scholar, but from the way he’s talking, he seems to know that he may not have much time left. In chapter 1, vs. 20, he says he hopes to not be ashamed and to have courage so that whether in life or in death, Christ would be exalted. He goes on to say, in verse 21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” When I first heard that, I had absolutely no idea what it meant. But the more I learned, I understood a little better where Paul was coming from. To live is an honor and an opportunity to serve the Lord, to do fruitful labor (vs. 22) to magnify God. To die is gain because to be with Jesus should be the cherry on the sundae…it should be something to embrace, not something we fear.
Matthew 10:28 says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Those…that doesn’t have to imply people…it could mean disease, disaster, addiction…anything that might take our life earlier than we’d like. However we die, that ‘thing’ can only kill our Earth Suit, it cannot kill our soul. As long as we’ve lived our lives for Christ, our soul is secure and heaven bound, to live an eternal life with our God. 1 Corinthians 15:55 says death is swallowed up in victory! Hallelujah!