Death comes to all of us. So what do we do about fearing the
inevitable? Christianity’s answer comes through the death and resurrection of
Jesus. Since therefore the children share in flesh and
blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he
might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and
deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery
(Hebrews 2:14-15). We look to Christ to deliver us from the fear of
death that makes slaves of us all.
In my last two posts, I wrote about why we fear death, and suggested five underlying fears. Last time I listed the first two of those five, and tried to suggest the impact Jesus’ own death and resurrection has
upon them. This time I’ll mention two more:
3. We fear death
because we fear separation from loved
ones forever.
A little over 10 years ago my wife almost died. A “simple,
outpatient surgery” went horribly wrong, and she spent a week in the hospital
in agonizing pain as the doctors tried to figure out exactly what had happened.
The seventh night I slept on a roll-out beside her bed, and
very early in the morning her vitals starting dropping. By 6 that morning I was
standing outside her room with two doctors I had never met. One of them told me
Dionne had to have emergency surgery immediately or she would die.
Overwhelmed and sleep-deprived, I said, is it possible to
get another opinion? The other surgeon said, “Sure. Here’s my opinion: she’ll
die if we don’t get her into surgery now.” So I signed consent forms, and
within a short time they were wheeling her away. I stood by her gurney for a
moment, and prayed over her. We both said
I love you. And goodbye. We were
both crying (though mainly me, I guess), and we both thought this was it.
But in a strange sort of way, we both felt God’s peace. As
awful as that moment was (and as grateful as I am that she is still here), we
both knew we were in the hands of our good God and that we would be together
again in heaven. Jesus promised, "I go to prepare a
place for you" (John 14:2-3). The Greek word
is plural for a reason. We, friends and family who know Christ, we’ll be
together again.
Ten centuries before Jesus’ Incarnation, King David fasted
and prayed that his baby would be healed. After the child died, he was
comforted by the truth that "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me”
(2 Samuel 12:23).
If I had thought on that terrible morning that I might never
ever see my wife’s sweet face again, it would have been crushing. The thought
of never being with the ones we love – who would not fear that?
But in Christ death is an interruption but not an
end to the relationships we cherish in this life. Maybe part of the reason that
Jesus spent so much time (40 days) with so many people (over 500) after the resurrection before returning to heaven was to demonstrate how our connections survive death.
When Paul spoke of Christ’s return, he promised that we will
be reunited with those who have already died in Christ, and so we will always
be with the Lord (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
4. We fear death
because we fear the end of earthly joys and
pleasures.
What if you believed that the happiest experiences of your
life would be forever gone when you die? No more sunsets, no more rock
climbing, no more fried chicken or chocolate ice cream; no more holding hands
with the one you love; no more reading great books, no more music, quilting, or
camping. No more puppies or giraffes or humming birds. No more redwood forests
or baseball games. No more practical jokes with your grandkids. No more setting
and achieving goals or learning new things.
Who would not fear the end of these things?
Our Christian faith teaches that life after death is in two
stages. Stage one: at death our spirits go immediately into the presence of
Christ. Joy unspeakable and full of glory! But stage two is the resurrection – your
spirit and body are brought together forever in a resurrection body, remade
like Christ’s resurrection body.
But
our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who will transform our lowly
body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to
subject all things to himself (Philippians
3:20-21, my emphasis).
Creation itself will be remade by its Creator, as John reported. Then I saw a
new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I
heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God
is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God
himself will be with them as their God" (Revelation 21:1-3).
In his book Heaven, Randy Alcorn speaks of life on the New Earth, after God renews all things: “The things we love are not merely the best this life has to
offer – they are previews of the greater life to come.” (p. 161). ... Every joy on earth – including the joy of reunion – is an inkling,
a whisper of a greater joy. The Grand Canyon, the Alps, the Amazon rain
forests, the Serengeti Plain – these are rough sketches of the New
Earth…Whenever we see beauty in water, wind, flower, deer, man, woman, or
child, we catch a glimpse of heaven. Just like the Garden of Eden, the New
Earth will be a place of sensory delight, breathtaking beauty, satisfying
relationships, and personal joy. (p. 233) Heaven is not the end of joy
and pleasure, but the beginning.
Next time: the fear of punishment for our sins.
