I was reading about the death of a policeman, Curtis Worland, who lived in Nome Alaska who was attacked and killed by a musk ox that he was trying to shoo away from his dog kennel.
The big news in Mississippi was the death of the Miss. State football coach, Mike Leach, who died suddenly from a massive heart attack at the age of 61 over the weekend. I just saw him on TV talking about his team and their chances next year.
As I ponder these events today, I am reminded of the fragility of life. No one in the world will escape death, (unless they happen to be alive at the time of the rapture). I seriously doubt that either of these gentlemen had given death much of a second thought until the moment they succumbed to it.
The Bible tells us that we should think of death often. Psalm 90:12 –Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Ecclesiastes 7:4 – A wise person thinks about death, but a fool thinks only about having a good time. Christians should not fear death, Jesus died and rose from the grave, therefore death has lost its “sting” (1 Corinthians 15:55). But just because the fear subsides, doesn’t mean we are left feeling indifferent. Death has a way of shocking us into seriousness.
Death – The very word can trigger images of darkness, men and women in black, of grief, and for some, fear. But God doesn’t want us to live in fear nor defeat. He wants us to live, and die, with the confidence that comes from knowing we belong to the victorious, risen King who defeated death when He died on the cross and rose from the grave.
I know several people who believe once we die, we simply cease existing. They assert that human consciousness stops just like turning off a light switch and there is nothing but silence. I have seen death many times. As a teenager I saw two girls in their early twenties who were killed in a car accident. The jolt of looking into those blank unseeing eyes staring at nothing is seared deep within my memory. I can remember it like it just happened. Since then, I have seen many others in this state including my mother and it is something that one never forgets.
Scripture teaches that while our present physical bodies will decompose, our souls will live forever, either in God’s presence or eternally separated from Him in hell. I have found when attempting to witness, especially to some of the hard cases, that it is useful to ask them what they think will happen to them when they die. I point to the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus from before He was born to His resurrection. I tell them how, to a person, the disciples were cowering in fear prior to His death and resurrection but once they saw Him alive again, they became bold as lions and had absolutely no fear of death and even died for Him. The Apostle Paul expressed his desire to go and be with the Lord ahead of schedule but realized his purpose in this life and continued on in good cheer.
As for me I have faced death many times and do not fear it in the least. I don’t believe in death. I look at it as a steppingstone to be with God. I believe a veil will be lifted and we will be welcomed into heaven to join the celebration. I’ve mentioned the tombstone in an ancient cemetery in Key West that reads, “The adventure continues” – Captain Bob That would fit me just fine.
Will today be the day? Only the Lord knows when he will unlock the cage and allow this caged bird to fly away to that next adventure that will never end, and I will be a free bird. When I do go, I hope no one will cry for me, because I will be with Jesus forever. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.’
1 Cor. 15:55
“Where, o death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”