This "Death Thing"

My Uncle Teddy died last week.  He had cancer.  He was my mother's brother, a loving husband, father of three sons, and a Vietnam veteran.  I grieve for him and his family.

So far in 2021, I've served at over 20 military funerals with our local Veterans Honor Guard, including a funeral for one of our own leaders. 

Since January, our church has had quite a few funerals, close to as many as we'd have in a year.

And this past year, I've lost several college classmates.

I have to say, "I don't like this death thing."  

The majority of our prayer requests are for people who are ill, hospitalized, whose bodies are breaking down.  We cry out to the Lord, "Please heal him.  Please heal us.  Don't let us get sick."  We pray this especially for our children, for our friends, for our loved ones, and for ourselves. 

And our prayers really come down to this, "Lord, don't let us die."

The fact is, we weren't created to die.  But when sin came into the world, death came.  And man dies.

For the wages of sin is death.  Romans 6:23a

Years ago, I often listened to a popular Christian radio host, and he liked to say, "The death rate is one per person.  Everybody's going to make it."

It's sobering; it's scary; we don't like to think about death.

These days, we don't even like to say "death."  Instead of saying, "He died," we say, "He passed away."  It just sounds more pleasant.

"Passed away" - I've never really liked that phrase.  It's almost like denying that death isn't real, that losing someone doesn't hurt. 

Then one day I read:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.             John 5:24

And there it is!  

Even though sin has condemned us to death, we know that, because of Jesus, we don't just die.  We don't face final judgment; we don't even "pass away."  But when we die, we "pass from death into life!"

...but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23b

In dying on the cross for our sins, Jesus defeated death.

We can now say with Paul...

O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting? Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 15:55, 57

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  Philippians 1:21

In the months before my uncle died, the good news, the gospel was shared with him, and he was baptized.  So when Uncle Teddy died, he also passed into life with Jesus.  That's our faith, our hope, our certainty - that when we die, we'll pass into life with Jesus.

We continue to grieve at death, but not like those who have no hope.

Our God, in His mercy, His love, His goodness, He saved us and continues to save us.