Definition of death

Last night friends and relatives came by the funeral home to pay their last respects to my Aunt Betty. To me the enormity of what has occurred when a person dies becomes shockingly apparent when they are viewed in a casket. This experience would be all but too hard to bear without the hope of Jesus Christ.

The Bible’s explanation of death is twofold: physical death is the separation of the soul from the body, and spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God. For the unsaved, death brings to an end the chance to accept God’s gracious offer of salvation, (“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”), but for the saved, death ushers us into the presence of Christ: (“To be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord”).

As someone who has been saved I look forward to death. My family thinks this is an unnatural if not macabre statement. I take solace however in the Bible which assures me that I am not some nutcase, (at least in this sense): 2 Corinthians 5:8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.

Hmmm Seems logical but is it a selfish point of view? The Bible has an answer for that: Philippians 1:22-23 “But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ”.

I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me personally. Christians in a selfish sense might prefer to die and live the good life forever, (Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”), but we have been placed on this earth to serve “God’s” purpose and not our own. We have an obligation to our earthly families to love, honor, protect, and provide for them and we have an obligation to Jesus to love Him above all other things in our life and if we love Him we will witness and spread the good word concerning His love and grace until at a time of His choosing He calls us home. That is all of the answer I need.

My poor old father longs to be with Betty his good and faithful wife of thirty one years in heaven and to join all of his other family and friends that have gone on before him, including my own mother to whom he was married for 35 years prior to Betty, and his beloved son my brother Jim. But his soul will not be separated from his body and he will not enter his home in paradise until his earthly purpose has been fulfilled to “God’s” satisfaction. Only God knows when that will occur and he must keep his eye on Him until it occurs.

What about you? If your soul is separated from your body today will you be joining Christ and dwelling forever in a house in paradise that He has prepared for you, or will you be told at the judgment, “Depart from me I never knew you”? and be banished to hell for eternity. The Bible promises that one or the other will occur. Christians, we can be assured that it is well worth the wait.

John 14:1-3
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”