“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”– 1 Cor. 15:55
Based on years of observation I think it’s fair to say that death is “the elephant in the room”. As obvious as it is nobody wants to talk about it. After all when is the last time you told your friends to grab a bag of chips and come over to chat about death? Just about everyone wonders what the experience will be like and wants to know what happens after death, but they don’t want to discuss it.
Tim McGraw sang, “Live like you’re dying”, but most people live as though they will never die. They couldn’t be more wrong– “it is appointed unto man once to die..: (Heb. 9:27). As to what happens then there are only two options– heaven or hell, glory or grief. That being the case would it not be wise of us to consider where we’re headed? We often hear people say “Get real”, but when it comes to the reality of death they want to pretend that it will never happen. To them it is a dreadful thought to be avoided at all cost. They would rather listen to music, watch the ball game, or a 1001 other things than to think about the “D” word. But, ignore it or not, you are going to die. We all have that in common.
About three people die every second and one of these days your turn will come- it might be today! The fact is you are dying right now. Your heart is beating a death march to the grave and the next beat could be your last. We are moving toward the grave even as we sleep. We are closer than we’ve ever been. There is no escape from death and there is no way to eliminate the dread of death except through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith turns our feelings upside down, or should I say right side up. Christ causes us to see death as gain rather than loss, the beginning rather than the end, glory rather than grief.
As mysterious and miserable the thought of death might be to you, we have good reason to believe that God’s grace will be sufficient to encourage us at our point of need. I believe God will enable us to see death as a friend instead of a foe and to face it head-on without fear– knowing that as He has promised so will He do, and therefore the best is yet to come!- HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
