He tells us that death is still our enemy, but Jesus has transformed our enemy into the very thing that saves us. His redemptive work has transformed the greatest enemy of man into something that Francis of Assisi called Sister Death, from whom no one can escape. But, Francis would add, all of us must pass through on our way to eternity.
We are all afraid of the unknown. And death is the great unknown. While we do know Who waits for us on the other side, there are so many things about what comes next that we DON'T know that it can be scary. This is why God tells us, over and over again, do not be afraid.
And have you ever noticed that we get a daily course in what death means? Every day, we learn what will happen. We go to sleep every night, and every morning we wake up. It's no coincidence that the Bible calls dying "falling asleep" and tells us not to be like people who don't believe in God, who sound like they have no hope when someone they know dies.
We do have hope. We see, every morning, that after we sleep, God wakes us up again.
And due to the redemptive work of Jesus, He will wake us up once more after we sleep the slumber of death. And wake to life that never ends.
God, thanks for the daily lesson.
4 comments:
Fear not my child, I'm with you always
Wonderful!
I loved my Grandma dearly. She always looked me squarely in the eyes when I talked to her. I felt she was the only one in the world who cared. She gave me happiness and joy. I was in Vietnam when she died, and no one told me. After my cousin sent me notice, I felt betrayed, she was one of my big positives that kept me safe. I just didn't care anymore. No joy. Only years later did I learn about the joy of death, and life after. Think of it this way (as I did), Jesus wept when it was revealed to Him that He would soon be separated from His Father for the first time ever because He was to become sin, die, take those sins to hell, AND then His Father would be waiting for Him on the other side of death. Purest of joy! God the Father is waiting for each of us....and so is my grandma.
I loved my Grandma dearly. She always looked me squarely in the eyes when I talked to her. I felt she was the only one in the world who cared. She gave me happiness and joy. I was in Vietnam when she died, and no one told me. After my cousin sent me notice, I felt betrayed, she was one of my big positives that kept me safe. I just didn't care anymore. No joy. Only years later did I learn about the joy of death, and life after. Think of it this way (as I did), Jesus wept when it was revealed to Him that He would soon be separated from His Father for the first time ever because He was to become sin, die, take those sins to hell, AND then His Father would be waiting for Him on the other side of death. Purest of joy! God the Father is waiting for each of us....and so is my grandma.
Post a Comment