I hate death We tend to relieve it with words like “I’ve happened from that at best,” I left or fell asleep. But if this can help alleviate the emotional confusion of reality, the truth is that death is a malevolent intruder, who mocks both life and life-giving The sage understood this when he wrote:
“From what I said to myself: as happens to the madman, so it happens to me; Why did I seek more wisdom?So I thought it was vanity, too. For the wise and foolish, the memory will not last forever; because, within a few days, everything falls into oblivion Ah, the sage dies, and the madman dies too!?(Ecclesiastes 2: 15-17)
- Death rises to testify that life is absurd and that God.
- If it exists.
- Is indifferent or powerless.
- Maybe both.
- No wonder Paul calls her an enemy.
- The last enemy.
One of the inevitable realities of aging is the growing experience of death. In recent years, I have experienced the death of my father and mother, a brother and a granddaughter. In the last three weeks, I have lost a niece, an uncle and, this morning, a nephew; By the incredible grace of God, all these members of my family died in faith, that is, they died believing in Jesus Christ as Lord; However, this faith does not deny death, nor does it make it less painful and traumatic, but it transforms it, allowing other believers to cry in another way at the grave of their loved ones, Christians cry and I should not hesitate or be ashamed of it , Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. I distrust those who feel more spiritual to celebrate than cry at a funeral.
It is natural, correct and Christian to mourn death, but Christians do it differently. Not like those who have no hope. ” Well,” as Paul said, “if we believe that Jesus died and was resurrected, then will God bring those who sleep through Jesus?(1 Thessalonians 4: 13-14). . For God resurrected Jesus from the dead, can we be sure that any of them are in Christ?By faith they will also be resurrected from death with him: he is the firstfruit and we, who are his own, the rest of the faith (1 Corinthians 15:20-23), Paul explains beautifully in 2 Corinthians 5. 1-8:
“We know that if our earthly house in this tabernacle collapses, we have a building of God, a house not handmade, eternal in heaven. And so, in this tabernacle, we moan, aiming to be clothed in our heavenly abode; if, however, we find ourselves dressed and not naked; because, in truth, those in this tabernacle moan with anguish, not because they want to be stripped, but clothed, so that the mortal may be absorbed by life. Now it was God Himself who prepared us for this by giving us the garment of the Spirit; therefore, we are always in a good mood, knowing that while we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord, because we walk by faith and not by what we see. But are we in full confidence, preferring to leave the body and live with the Lord?(2 Corinthians 5. 1-8).
Death immediately leads the Christian into the presence of our Lord, where we will wait with him for the great day of the Resurrection, when our renewed spirit will join our resurrected bodies, making us able to spend eternity with God, who redeemed us. It is this blessed hope that allows all believers to see death as an enemy, yes, but as an enemy that can no longer terrorize or mock us. That day, to the sound of the trumpet, “The dead shall be resurrected incorruptible, and we shall be transformed. Why is it necessary for this corruptible body to be clothed with incorruptibility and for the mortal body to be clothed with immortality?(1 Corinthians 15: 52-53). And when that happens, then the believers will have the last word. By the power of our risen Lord, we will overcome death with him and mock it by saying:
“Where is your victory, O dead?(1 Corinthians 15. 55)
It is this sure hope that feeds my pain for the death of my uncle, who lived a long and productive life, and the death of my niece and nephew who, from our point of view, were taken to the top of their lives, leaving their husbands behind. bereavement children and orphaned children. They died in the faith and, in the words of puritanical pastor John Owen, left the land of the dead and entered the land of the living.
Death is certainly our enemy. The last enemy. But his defeat occurred with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, its destruction is guaranteed. Anyone with this hope finds comfort in the midst of deep pain.