Every person may die any time. You are cremated or buried. Your loved ones won’t see you again. Death can be a terror, because Jesus Himself said that there is a place (hell) where there is no end to anguish, hate, and the complete absence of love. There is therefore a very good reason why people don’t want to go to such a place. There are also many religious people of different faiths who fear hell and, by doing good deeds, try to get to heaven rather than to hell. However, they never know whether their life is good enough, or whether they have done enough, to qualify for heaven. We all are people of flesh and blood, and sin remains a reality. Our only comfort is that God also became flesh and blood in Jesus to come and help us, to come and free us of fear of death: Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. (Heb. 2:14 – 15).
Jesus tells the parable of the woman who has ten silver coins of which one gets lost. She searches thoroughly until she finds it and when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says: “Rejoice with me, because I have again found my money which got lost.” After that Jesus says: “In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:9 – 10).
We need not allow fear of death to rob us of the joy in our lives. Jesus had come; He is the way to the heavenly Father: Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Eternal life is a gift of grace: but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:23).
For those who belong to Christ it’s unnecessary to fear death. Jesus had broken the might of death: But now it has been revealed to us through the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus. He has ended the power of death and through the gospel has revealed immortal life (2 Tim. 1:10). Fear of death ends when you know heaven is your true home: We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven (Phil. 3:20). Christians need not say, ‘I’m going to die’. They may say ‘My body is going to die’.
We do not have to mourn when our loved ones die. Paul writes: Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). We mourn because we’re going to miss them. Not because they’re dead. We have a living hope: Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope (1Pet.1:3).
Thank Father that my life will not end when I die, because You give me eternal life through the death of Jesus on the cross. Amen.
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