11/16/2016 11:36:46 AM
Dying to Live
I’m tired of death. I’m tired of turning the news on at night and hearing how this kid killed another kid. I’m tired of hearing how rival gang members kill other gang members. And why are they killing? Because of the way one person decided to style his hair. It’s stupid. I’m tired of hearing about it. I’m tired of hearing about co-sleeping deaths. I’m tired of hearing how teenagers hurt and kill themselves or others because of the reckless things they do while driving. I’m tired of diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s that rob our loved ones of strength and life. I’m tired of wills, and powers of attorney and all the other paperwork for when I or my spouse are too weak or are dead and can't make important decisions. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of death.
But as tired or frustrated about death as you or I may be we can’t escape it. Death is part of life. It’s everywhere we look. Some might even say we live in a culture of death. And, actually, death is part of the Christian life, too. You might say that believers are dying...to live again.
Let me explain...
Physically, yes, we die. Even though Jesus paid for sin, the consequence of physical death still lingers. But physical death is not something to fear. Because Christ endured the curse of death for us, we have nothing to be afraid of. He will bring us through death. We pass through our physical death like we walk through a door. It’s a change of existence from this life to the next life.
And spiritually we never have to fear the unending torment of eternal death in hell. That death has been taken away forever because Christ took it away from us—you can no longer die. Christ has made you children of the resurrection. You die, and in God's time, you are raised back to life. Your souls rejoin your bodies and you live forever with the Lord.
So death holds no fear for us. In fact, we are dying to live again because we know death gives way to life. Physical death is our deliverance from this world of sin, death, disease, murder, hatred. It brings us home. It brings us into the presence of our Heavenly Father who eagerly waits for us to be with him forever and has set a day when that will happen for each of us.
So now is the time to take Jesus seriously because we don’t control death. If eternity awaits, why hold on to the things of this world when soon it will all pass away? Get rid of those things that stand in the way of your relationship with God. In an instant this will all pass away. In an instant God will take you from death to life. In an instant your eternity will begin. So how should you think about the things of this life? In that instant, how important will your nice house, your nice car, your exceptional education, your cushy retirement, your career, your time—how important will any of that be? Think about that when Black Friday and Cyber Monday roll around. As the rest of this world flocks to the temples of commerce to get what their empty hearts desire, you know that eternity holds more glimmer and happiness than all the things of this world.
Death holds no fear, no threat, because in Christ, live forever. You might even say, we're dying to live again.