Handling GriefSample

Death Is A Part Of Life

Death is almost always a topic we shy away from. Many are not comfortable with it. Some even fear it. But death is a part of life. 

It was George Barnard Shaw who said that the statistics on death are very staggering – “one of every one person dies.” Death is the only certain thing in this life.

God never promised us that we or our loved ones wouldn’t die. In fact, He promised exactly the opposite--everyone dies. Hebrews 9:27 tells us “And it was appointed unto men once to die; but after this the judgment.”

Everyone dies. God has not broken any promises when He lets people die. He has simply allowed what He said would happen, to happen. Ever since Adam and Eve brought death and decay into our world, death has been part of the bargain. So, we need to be prepared for death.

In John 11:11, we see how tenderly Christ speaks of the death of believers. He announces the fact of Lazarus being dead in a language of singular beauty and gentleness—“Our friend Lazarus sleeps.”

Psychologists tell us that Thanatophobia, the fear of death, is the root of all the other fears. If you have a spirit of fear, you did not get it from God. You get rid of fear in your life by replacing it with faith. When faith comes, fear goes! Fear leaves when faith comes!

Jesus has already taken the sting out of death for those who have received Him as their Savior (1 Cor. 15:55-57).  Through Jesus’ victory over death, He delivers “them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15). For the child of God trusting the Lord, death holds no terror, but rather affords a glorious anticipation of release from the limitations of this earthly life into the liberation of the heavenly life. As Paul said, “To die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

When cancer took the wife of Donald Barnhouse, leaving him with three children all under 12, he thought of how to bring a message of hope to his children. When they were driving to the funeral service, a large truck passed them, casting a noticeable shadow across their car. Turning to his oldest daughter, who was staring sadly out the window, Barnhouse asked, "Tell me, sweetheart, would you rather be run over by that truck or its shadow?" Looking curiously at her father, she replied, "By the shadow, I guess. It can't hurt you." Speaking to all his children, he said, "Your mother has not been overridden by death, but by the shadow of death. That is nothing to fear."

The countdown to death begins at birth. The Bible is not afraid to speak of death: it calls it what it is. But at the very centre of Christianity is the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The cross is where Jesus enters into the grief and suffering of the world; he experiences the abandonment and depth of death. In the resurrection, Jesus breaks the power of death; it is no longer a full stop lingering over humanity; it is redefined in Him and He offers us life eternal. 

If our theology is only that of the cross, we miss the hope and the joy of the Gospel. 

If our theology is only of resurrection then we can’t understand suffering or make any sense of it, let alone be comfortable to sit with it. 

We need both – the cross and the resurrection.

Quote: Where sin has been removed death can only interrupt the earthly life and usher in the heavenly.-John MacArthur

Prayer: Lord, I thank you that death is not the end, but the beginning of life. Amen