The End of Death

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,”- 1 Peter 3:18

Death. The hound of hell. The grim reaper. The ultimate equalizer. Death isn’t selective and rarely silent. No one can outrun, outwit or outlive its reach. Death almost never gives notice and usually leaves a wake of despair, doubt and disappointment. Some people desire death. They pop the pills, string the rope or load the gun. Some people cheat death. They live in the fast lane, with pedal to the floor and no hand on the wheel. Some people fear death. They risk little, seek comfort and play it safe. Still others accept death. Behind Hades door is hope, healing and Heaven.

Death is defined most appropriately as a separation. Separation from the living. Separation from family. Separation from God. But death is more than a physical reality. Death happens emotionally. Every day people walk through life without passion or purpose. Death strikes mentally. The aged lose their cognitive sharpness or a skull accident steals thinking faculties. Death also attacks spiritually. A soul on ice is a terrible tragedy and at the heart of the human condition.

Every religion offers its solution to death. Like exotic elixirs at a local bar, the human answers to this final fate line up to tempt the taste. Reincarnation. Nirvana. Virgins and Paradise. Universal salvation. Pure nothing. Unfortunately, none of these satisfy the soul and the thirst returns.

It’s into the human condition and its religion that Jesus—fully God and fully human—offers a fresh Wine. A Living Spirit and Eternal Opportunity. It’s what makes Christianity distinct and superior to any other religious idea, thought or plan. It’s a Divine Drink guaranteed to bring you to God and live forever. Jesus bet His own Life on it.

And so can you.


NOTABLE QUOTABLES ON DEATH:

All say, "How hard it is that we have to die" - a strange complaint to come from the mouths of people who have had to live. (Mark Twain)

I'm not afraid of death. It's the stake one puts up in order to play the game of life. (Jean Giraudoux)

Death---the last sleep? No the final awakening. (Walter Scott)

I look at life as a gift of God. Now that he wants it back I have no right to complain. (Joyce Cary)

I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. (Winston Churchill)

Father, this is the day You have made. It is a gift. It’s “the present.” In a world of death, You are Life. In a world of darkness, you are Light. In a world of despair, You are Love. Jesus, we thank You for giving Your Life and returning from the dead so we might live forever. Amen.