Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
The older I get the more I think of dying. That seems only natural. Graduation time approaches and I need to think about it seriously. I know I’m merely one heartbeat away from stepping into a room full of angels, so what are my thoughts when I think of dying? Maybe they are not unlike your own thoughts. May I share them with you?
I want to die in Christ! “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). Frankly, I relish life. I enjoy my simple comforts. I love being with my family as we help each other prepare for heaven. When Jesus comes or when I cross over to the other side, I want to be found, as my friend Jere says, “dying trying.” To be in Christ is an extraordinary place. It is a position of hope and boldness. Being in Jesus allows us to boldly approach the throne room of heaven any time we have the need. And as much as I have in this life [food, shelter, clothing, friends, transportation, entertainment, the Word], I know that, like Paul said, to die as a disciple of Christ is great gain. I will have lost nothing when I give my mortal life up to immortality with God in glory. Just as when we rose from the baptismal waters and all things became new, when I die all things will become new again. A new body. A new perspective. A new home.
I want to die in peace! “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). In Christ we have the peace that passes all compre-hension. There will never be peace in this old world so long as despots and heads of state with selfish agendas are in power. But Jesus said he would give us peace unlike that which the world offers. “Peace I give…let not your hearts be troubled; neither let them be fearful.” The comfort this peace brings us at this very hour is part of the joy of being in the family of God. To pillow our heads at night knowing we can have joy and peace in our faith is as comforting as it can be. I can’t imagine having to try to sleep while worried about all the issues the world troubles us with.
I want to die in hope! “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). George Straight sings the song, “Everybody wanna go to heaven. But nobody wanna go now.” Why not now? Of what have we to be fearful? If we have a crown of righteousness to look forward to, why not relish the idea of Jesus’ return, or of our crossing over to glory? Every Christian—every day lives with the hope of salvation in his heart. That allows us to have such a peaceful existence in spite of the slings and arrows hurled our way by Satan. My wife Laura is suffering in her 14th year of Parkinson’s and has not only lost her insurance but her doctors, that which our president promised would not happen, but she still has a positive attitude. Should we all not have that same mindset, no matter what?
I want to die in love! “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1,2). Not only is God’s lavish love poured out on us every moment of every day, but our love for one another is awesome. I know that in spite of my quirks and oddities my family still loves me. And they know I love them. We have unconditional love for each other. Where else can you find that? Not at an AA meeting. Not in a lot of marriages today. My friends Jere and Carl love me as I love them. They could call me at 3 in the morning and not have to apologize, and so could I. Why is that? For we are enveloped by the love of those in the family of God. That ought to give every one of us great calm and reassurance. Even if I die in my sleep and can’t tell my family one more time, “I love you,” they will know I did and I will know they did. How great is that?
I want to die in faith! “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). Paul knew a crown of righteousness was awaiting him at the end of his sojourn on earth. Is keeping our faith vital to the joy we maintain in Jesus? Of course it is. We hear a lot about there being nothing we can do regarding our salvation. That is a gold-plated lie! We have to receive the gospel of Christ. We have to obey it (2 Thessalonians 1:8). We need to keep it. Keeping the faith is what our Christ walk is all about. We live by faith and not by sight. We minister to others because of this faith. And we can know we have the faith just as sure as we can know our names. “These things have I written unto you who believe on the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
If I know I have eternal life in Christ, then what have I to fear in dying? Everyone must die if the Lord lingers. It’s built into the scheme and fabric of life. So, rather than fear it and run from it, why not embrace it in Christ with the peace, hope, love and faith that is ours to share?
Conclusion! Are you prepared to pass from this life into the great beyond? Why not? Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything? If so, that makes you a lying thief. Our sin makes us guilty of sin and my Bible says God will by no means clear the guilty. No wonder so many of us fear death. We are guilty as sin and know it. But Jesus is our escape from guilt. And that is the good news of the gospel. Through Jesus we no longer carry the guilt of sin and no longer need to fear dying. There is no greater news than that.
To learn what Heaven will really be liked based on what the Bible actually says instead of the cliches we often here, check out “The True Heaven” written by Joe Beam and Lee Wilson.