God's Word to the Wise

I fear dying, but not death. To close my eyes in slumber and awaken with the Lord is how I prefer to die. The process of dying is the most unnatural thing a person will ever experience. Death is the last enemy that will ultimately be defeated, as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:26, which emphasizes that death is a consequence of sin and stands in opposition to God’s design for life.

Something glorious and decisive did take place on the cross with respect to death. The sting of death was removed by Jesus. Paul writes, “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

God gives to us a victory that we could not achieve for ourselves. So is death now our friend? Or is it still our foe? For believers, death is a friend insofar as it ushers us into the immediate presence of Christ. But insofar as it is still coupled with much suffering, it remains the last enemy that must be totally vanquished. Our problem with death is not with death itself but with the process that leads up to it. It is dying that is still feared by Christians. What Christian would be afraid of death if we could just shut our eyes and wake up in heaven? We know that the other side of death is glory and that death is but the portal or threshold to that glory.

And so, whereas I do not look forward to the dying process I do long to be dead and present with Jesus my Lord.