In the wake of this COVID-19 crisis, I have found myself thinking a little bit more about death. This is not even what we would typically call a deadly virus, but the whole world is freaking out over it, and for good reason. It is scary how easily and how quickly the virus spreads. One thing this experience has proven is that even in this day and age, with all our sophistication and technology, we are still very vulnerable. So when it comes down to it, we cannot depend 100% on man-made systems and structures for safety and security. You will think that will compel all of us to consider the sovereign God as the only reasonable option.
Death is that one thing we all know is coming for each and every one of us, but not many of us actually prepare for it, unlike almost everything else in life that looms ahead. We prepare for college, we prepare for the job market, we prepare for retirement, but that is just about how far it goes. Death? We will rather not talk about it, unless of course it comes knocking in the form of a terminal illness. Whether or not we prepare and how we prepare starts with what we TRULY believe happens after death. I say truly because a lot of us say we believe one thing but our actions/lives say otherwise. The proof is in the pudding.
So what happens when we die?
There are several theories out there. Let me mention three that come to mind. One; Some say we cease to exist. Two; Some think we all go to heaven. Three; We Christians believe we face judgement, and based on the choices we made here on earth, we go to heaven or hell. This post is not about disproving the first two theories, which I of course believe are false. This post is about highlighting what it means to TRULY believe the third theory.
If I believe Theory 1 or 2, it does not matter what I do here on earth, I do what I please and do not concern myself with any guidelines or rules. It is all up to me. However if I believe Theory 3, then I want to know what keeps me away from the bad place (hell), and I go after it with all that I have, all the days of my life. I am also acutely aware of the good that is promised/guaranteed me after death (heaven), so I actually look forward to it, and see Death, not as an end but as a door to something even better. More like a transition, a metamorphosis.
Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." - NKJV
So why do most of us fear death, even as Christians?
I think many fear death because of fear of the unknown. Many people, Christians included, are uncertain about what comes after. To them death has a terrible finality about it that is frightening. In this context, Paul's statement in Philippians is heavy with meaning "...to die is gain..." How many of us Christians truly have this mindset? One who thinks like this does not fear death, but rather looks forward to it, as grim as it may sound.
Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." NKJV
The world is panicking right now because this Corona virus has the potential to kill. And we do not want to die. Most of us think death is bad. Why? We see death as an end because our reality is limited to our physical experience. All that our five senses can attest to. But what if our existence is much more than that? What if our physical existence is only a shadow of ultimate reality? An ultimate reality that we experience only when we die. An ultimate reality God is willing to show us even here on earth, if only we will humbly seek to know.
2 Corinthians 4:18 "while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." - NKJV
Be prepared.
Death does not announce itself. But guess what? An accident or a diagnosis just makes real what has been hanging over our heads the whole time. How does one live in this consciousness? In the daily awareness that death is around the corner? Daily godly habits; prayer, bible reading/meditation and obedience. What I understand to be ABIDING in Christ (John 15). Here I know I am safe and I can live without the fear of death. When the time to die comes, its inevitable, and as a Christian I should be prepared for it every single day. When it is not yet time, I can rest in the assurance of God's protection. So I walk by faith, not fear. Of course not being reckless, but applying wisdom. Jesus did not throw Himself off a building to prove a point to Satan (Matthew 4).
In this crisis I believe we Christians should strive to be Light. Let others see Christ in us, and hopefully as a result, experience salvation. Repeatedly in the Bible we see how people who rebelled against God and failed to repent were eventually punished. Nations grew, and in their strength and greatness, they forgot God and His ways. They even challenged the almighty God! All of a sudden, they knew better than the God they started with. Does that sound familiar? Contemporary culture honestly scares me with its blatant disregard for God and insatiable appetite for ungodliness. Christ is ridiculed and sin is glorified. Could this virus be the beginning of worse things to come if we do not change our ways?
Acts 3:19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" - NKJV
Romans 10:9-10 "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." - NKJV
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