Fear Not Friday – Death Transition

¹⁷ Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage^[l] one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

Within a 3 week period, I have 3 friends who lost their father’s. One would have turned 100 in October. Another man lost his mother in her 90’s and we went to her funeral. As we were walking through the graveyard looking at the tombstones, I had several impressions.

I was reminded that everybody dies, no one escapes death. The Bible declares that it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment. The Psalmist tells us to count our days (meaning there will be an end to them) rightly, so that we can gain a heart of wisdom. Even Benjamin Franklin made the quote famous, “we must all face death and taxes”.

I also saw many people who had died who were younger than Pam and I. I thought of high school friends who have already passed away. I thought of some good relationships of personal friends who have died. Yep, I miss them. They have all passed through the death transition. 

The reality is when someone we love dies, it leaves an ache in our heart. It is like a hole of emptiness that nothing except that person can fill. But the Bible does not leave us hopeless when it comes to death.

1 Corinthians 15 is worth reading the whole chapter. Here are the final verses, When this corruptible is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. 55  Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? 56 Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The sting of death, the fear of death transition, the fear that I am going to die hangs over us like a rock waiting to fall on us. That’s not the end of the story. Life beyond death finds hope in faith that Jesus came back to life and we will be with him in incorruptible bodies forever and ever. In Thessalonians, Paul tells us that we should encourage one another with these words.

Life in Jesus after death is like standing in front of a door with the thickest of dark glass. He is telling us what we can experience on the other side. No matter how hard we strain to see and know what is on the other side, it eludes us. This vagueness leads many to have ideas about what that reality will really be.

As a follower of Christ, I have found that faith in what God says AND the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, bring hope to my heart. We will see our loved ones again who were children of God. 

Those who are not “known” by the Father will live eternally separated from Him in a place of eternal torment. Jesus described this place as full of weeping and gnashing of teeth. The reality of hell is just as real as the reality of heaven and there is a gap between the two that can never be bridged. Soberness about what I have just written does not even begin to capture the bleakness of the outcome of those who have no relationship with Jesus. They will live forever with the consequences of rejecting His offer of salvation. It will be true that those wishing to save their lives will lose them and those who lose their lives in Him will find everlasting life. All have some faith about what happens after you take your last breath, I’ve planted my flag with Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

On this Fear Not Friday, there is hope for those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. He defeated death. We will be with Him forever and ever. We will see our family and friends who have gone before us. There will be a banquet feast. Though life may be hard for a season, our labor will not be in vain.

Don’t be afraid of not being able to see on the other side of the door. Listen to the voice of our Savior calling us to our forever home. While we are still on the earth, let Psalm 138:8 be true. The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. Lord, Your love is eternal;

Blessings, Love y’all