Our church family recently experienced the death of a dear friend and family member. So, I thought it would be a good idea to look at death through the eyes of our Saviour. Let's go to scripture and see how He reacted to death, and what He had to say about it.
If you live long enough, you will experience the death of a family member, or a friend. In the experience of losing my Grandmother to pancreatic cancer, I experienced many thoughts, feelings, and emotions. In the process of her terminal six month journey with this disease. I have a confession: I fussed with God. I felt personally betrayed. How could He let my beloved Grandmother die? He could have prevented it; why didn't He? If it was God's fault, He failed to honor His promise to hear and answer my prayers.
These fussings are sometimes needed as a venting, but in the long run, they will not bring consolation to the soul. The healing point is to know that God receives our venting. We see that in the example of Mary and Martha in the scripture passage in John 11. Jesus heard their venting, and He did not reprimand them. Instead, what did He do? He cried with them! There was no judgement, just tears of empathy. ( John 11: 35)
In addition to empathy, Jesus showed another dimension that each of us feels when death is experienced. John 11:33 says that as Jesus experienced their pain at the loss of Lazarus, He was "moved with indignation, and was deeply troubled." Why was Jesus troubled? I believe because He was angry at death itself. Not just because Lazarus died, but because we all die. We were meant to live. We were meant to live a life without sorrow and disease. Our lives were to be lived without the effects of sin. But human sin brought with it, human death.
Quite simply, death is an enemy. Our consolation however, can be found in scripture. In I Cor. 15:56 : "For sin is the sting that results in death," but Jesus provides victory over sin and death. Death is swallowed up in victory. " O death, where is your sting?" (I Cor. 15 :55) The words of Isaiah 25:8 are a comfort,"He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears." This is a description of the work that Jesus came to earth to do. His death and victory over it give us reason to experience hope and consolation. Job 14:5 says,"You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live and we are not given a minute longer." There can be peace found in the acceptance that God has ordained the number of our days. That sovereign control also provides a sense of safety. Someone bigger than me is in charge here!
What is the victory beyond the grave? It's heaven! Another victory beyond the grave is that we will all receive a new body. Kim Ancion has received a new body. We should all rejoice in that for her! She has unzipped this old body that failed her. She has received her new body. One that is free from pain and disease. A perfect, glorified body!
She has also received her reward, or inheritance. In I Peter 1:4" To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you." It also states in Matt. 5: 12a "Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great..." That just makes me want to shout "Hallelujah!" We will all, if we are Christians, have a reward, and an inheritance in heaven. We should be investing our time, treasure, and talent in the souls of men because we are investing in our future home.
So in conclusion, is death safe? We can say death can feel very unsafe. But what is safe is the God-assured promise of the celebration that is ours, and was Kim's, the moment we are united with the Lord in a gloriously safe and secure and perfect heaven.
We can rejoice in the life of Kim Ancion as a life well lived, and now we should rejoice in the death also, because we know that she has arrived at her actual home, where we know that if we belong to the Lord, we will indeed see her again. So, it's not goodbye: I'll see you in a little while my friend. We can take comfort in the fact that death is indeed safe for the Christian!
(Some excerpts were taken from Marilyn Mebergs book: What To Do When The Roof Caves In) By: JoAnne Roy
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