A little boy was explaining death in an essay. He wrote, “A natural death is where you die without a doctor’s help.” The subject of death ought to interest each of us. After all, whether we ever face up to it or not, living is a deadly affair for all of us. Yes, it is. No matter how old you are or how young, no matter what part of the country you live in, no matter how many sit-ups you do or how many miles you hike or bike or swim or walk, whether you are vegan or a voracious meat-eater, whether you live in Arizona or Alaska, whether you eat yogurt and nothing with sugar, fat or salt, or a bowlful of whole milk ice-cream ever night, whether you regularly sleep eight hours a day or are an incurable insomniac – the sobering, inescapable truth is the death rate for the human race is 100% – one death for every birth. Doctors, medicine, a good diet and exercise program, etc. – they can provide a lot of help in living longer. What they cannot do is help us live forever. As Willa Cather said, “I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived.”
The Bible weighs in with its own sobering message about death. Like a doctor delivering bad news, the first part of Hebrews 9:27 bluntly tells us, “lt is appointed for men to die once.” If that’s not sobering enough, the last half of the verse certainly is – “but after this the judgment.” The prognosis for all of us is death. Unless Jesus returns during our lifetime, all now living are going to die. But all who die will also survive death! The urgent issue we must concern ourselves with before death is where will we be after the judgment. Jesus depicts the urgency of the situation in Matthew 25:46 at the end of His famous “sheep on the right, goats on the left” description of the separation that will occur at His return. Depending upon our record of faithful service to Christ or lack of it, Jesus said, “And these [the goats] will go away into everlasting punishment, but the rigtheous [the sheep] into eternal life.” This talk about death and the judgment makes many people feel depressed and discouraged, making death the dreaded “D” word. We fear death because of its finality. As Oscar Wilde once noted, “One can survive everything nowadays except death.” Wilde died of meningitis on November 30, 1900 at age 46. But he he did survive death! That is he did (or at least he will) go on to face judgment and an eternal destiny. Face it friend. All of this makes Jesus Christ and His gospel relevant to every person in every place in every time! To you and to me, right now! Jesus Christ survived death! Though lawless and sinful men killed Him on a cross, “This Jesus God has raised up” (Acts 2:32). The good news is that by rising from the dead Jesus “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). Jesus is still the only One who “has the keys of Hades and death” (Revelation 1:8). Technology, science, and human ingenuity have accomplished marvels and extended and improved our lives on earth in wonderful ways. But check out the obituary column in the newspaper or go visit a cemetery. People are dying all around us with alarming regularity. According to God’s word they will survive death. The only question for them and for us is where will we be for eternity? You need to think about it. Will you?
By: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN