A Little Chat with God #11

(death for the Christian)

Good evening God:

            Today I want to talk to you about “death for the Christian.”  This is a real in-depth phrase for me to consider, but it is something every Christian has to deal with, in one form or another, at any given time.  I have lost several very dear friends over the last several months, more so than usual, but then I am getting older as is everyone else and death seems to be lurking right around the corner for many people in my age bracket.

            Death, when the word comes to one’s mind, immediately conjures up a picture of sadness, morbidity and finality; the sound of it even carries a dirge tone.  However, death is something we will all face at some point in our life  . . . this is a “rite of passage” so to speak, for every human.  No one escapes physical death and no one escapes spiritual death. 

My main focus is on the older generation who has had ample time to prepare themselves for this passage although I realize that in life the young are taken as well as the old. You are no respecter of persons.  In fact, in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy 10:17, it is stated, “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.”  And again in the New Testament in Acts 10:34-35, you again state via the words of your Apostle, Peter, “. . . In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”  What a wonderful thought that we will be accepted by you at death if we do your will.  That is a promise to all mankind, but such is almost totally lost within the realm of our culture and society that we live in today.

Death signifies the end of someone’s timeline on this side of eternity.  Everyone has a timeline and no one knows when his or her timeline will be completed.  Life is so fragile and so short; we need to consider this on a daily basis because we do not know if it will be our last day to live or not.  In James 4:14 it states, “. . . For what is life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”  This is so true when you go back in time, if we had a tangible time line in front of us, even if just to the founding day of our country. 

How many people have been born and entered into death . . . their life is like a fleeting blip on a radar screen, there for a second in time and then gone for eternity. We live in a “time” society; we are geared to the idea of seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years and centuries, as you provided for us as stated in Gen 1.  But in eternity there is no time as we know time.  When you consider the true meaning of the word “forever”, it is difficult to comprehend its fullest extent with our finite minds.

           

Death to the Christian, a person who has followed your word to the best of his or her ability, is a joy in some aspect and a sorrow in another.  People will question this and say, “Where is the joy in death?” or “How can anyone be joyful about the loss of another?” or “Why does God allow this to happen?” which is many times expressed at the death of a child, teenager or very young adult.  These are questions from people who do not have the benefit of your word, your teaching and your promise that the faithful have.  They lack understanding that followers of your will have, that is, a promise of living eternally with you in heaven, a place of love like we have never known, a place where darkness is banished forever, a place of beauty with peace, a place of no pain and hardship, a place where there is no sorrow and no tears . . . this is eternity, heaven, the home of the soul.

Christians live their entire life towards attaining this goal . . . living in eternity with you and your angels . . . when death appears and their timeline has ceased.  Christians strive every day of their life to avoid the pitfalls that Satan hurls in their faces day in and day out.  We are continuously tempted with the pride of life, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and other worldly desires throughout life here on earth that necessitates our having to continually be on guard so that we do not fall prey to these untoward desires.  Satan wanders to and fro on this earth doing his best to tempt us to sin . . . Satan does not care about us or our soul other than to conquer us as another one of his trophies. 

On the flip side of the coin, you love us, you care for us, you know our every desire before we do, you created us in your image and likeness and it is your express desire and fervent hope that we live a life according to your teachings that we may live in eternity with you.  You have given us the written word which sets forth the type of life we are to lead; you spared nothing to make sure we had your word, even to the point of giving your son Jesus to die such a horrifying and humiliating death on the cross, to pay the price, that we have access to you, the Father, and to an eternity in heaven when our life is completed.  It is you who wants to be able to say to us, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

People will say living the life of a Christian is too hard, too restrictive and too demeaning.  Those of that mindset are too involved with the worldly pleasures of our time.  They want to party, they want to get drunk, they want to do drugs, they have no concern for life of another, they want to be free to live as they see fit which most of the time is not even close to the standard of a good life, even by the world.  Oh yes, they have fun, fun, fun; they tend to have no accountability of their actions, they think the world revolves around them and at times, it is these people that seem to have everything . . . well everything on earth that is.  They have no vision of eternity, only the here and now.  Their idea of life is do it while you can regardless of whether it is right or wrong, regardless of who you step on to do it and regardless of what it does to your own life.  These people have no love for another, no compassion, no humility, no concern except for themselves and I tell you, these people will have a sad revelation when they face you at judgment.  As the hymn says, “there’s a sad day coming” and this WILL come and there will be a great moaning and gnashing of teeth right along with it.

Christians live with a clear-cut vision for their future. They hear and heed your calling after studying diligently and having come to an understanding of your word; they know the truth and are highly motivated to follow this truth throughout the rest of their life.  They KNOW and UNDERSTAND what their reward will be and they long to reach this goal.  They also know what their destiny will be if they do not follow, now that they know your pathway. 

I do not believe there is the first soul in the entire universe that really wants to go to hell; most people do not believe there is a place called hell.  They think a just god, as you are, will not condemn one of your own creations to an eternity of horror. There are religions today that feel they can ‘pray themselves out of the fires of hell’ before the day of judgment but little do they realize that you have referred to hell so many times in your word, and it is a real place, if they would just read your word. Hell is referred to as a place in Matthew 5:22 so it must exist if you mentioned it in your own words.  In Matthew 18:9 you mention “hell fire” which puts “hell” in the category of existing with fire.  In Luke 12:5 you say  . . . “But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!”  Hell is definitely an existing place!  In James 3:6 you talk about the uncontrollable tongue that has been set on fire by hell, again denoting hell is existing and with fire.  In Revelation 19:20 you refer to a lake of fire burning with brimstone.  Again in Revelation 20:10 the devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone with the false prophets and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.  How can people even consider the idea there is no hell?  Satan is really having a heyday with these people’s minds and souls, and only too late will they realize their folly.

Death in and of itself in the physical realm (depending on the circumstances) is usually painful, not only to the person dying but to the people who love him and are by his bedside as he slips into the valley of the shadow of death.  Hearts are broken to shards, tears come in unending streams, one’s soul is pierced to the core with the loss of a loved one, and life is changed forever for those remaining. Memories to be made are halted, but memories already made are shared now in our minds and conversation with others.  The physical body is mourned according to the culture and then buried in the ground . . . we were made from dust and now are returned to the dust of the earth.

Death in the spiritual sense is beautiful to those who have trod the pathway you provided for us in the written word, the Bible.  For the Christian who has worked hard all of his life to obey your teachings, set good examples, taught others your way . . . one who has foregone the frivolities, power and wealth of life, the way of fun and games which lead to the darker, dangerous side of life . . . he has, now in death, won the race and earned the crown of life, the ultimate reward, eternity with you in heaven.  There is such joy and peace . . . which others could not begin to understand . . . for those left on this side of heaven, to know they have a loved one in heaven with you, even though, physically, they carry a burden and broken heart as they struggle with life, being now alone. 

But, every Christian knows death will come . . . and they know if they have walked in your footsteps, they will be able to see their faithful loved ones again when their timeline has ended and they too make their way through the valley of the shadow of death and  be united with you, our heavenly father.

While death itself is certain, the time and way of death is not.  And the occurrence of death is a sad and joyous occasion entwined when viewing a Christian’s life and in the godly manner his life was lived.  If I had to put it in words, I would have to say that life really is a dress rehearsal for the play called “Heaven” and I think we had better get the script right on the first go around, because when death cloaks us in its power over life, all chances for heaven cease and we will be judged on how we lived our life on earth.

Yes, I believe a Christian’s death signifies the beginning of a much more beautiful relationship with you in eternity, the likes of which we can only barely begin to imagine, but a place in which I hope to hear you gently but lovingly say to me one day, “welcome thou faithful servant; enter into the joys of my kingdom.”

Thank you again for letting me get some of this off my chest.  This has really been on my mind since the occurrence of several deaths recently and I just had to let you know how I saw this in my mind.  Thanks for being so patient.  Until the next time . . .

Written by Ruth Miller

©  September 15, 2011