THE JOY OF DYING

THE JOY OF DYING

It is human nature to fear death but is it the hereafter we fear most or the method of death? As a Christian, it is the method I fear. I look forward to the hereafter. We Christians are promised eternal life, no more pain, no sorrow, no sickness, a new and perfect body, riches beyond comprehension, a mansion, beauty all around, and singing angels. I might even be able to sing too, unlike now. Our work on earth will be done and we will have eternal peace. We will see loved ones gone on before and we will finally get to meet Jesus, the one who made all of this possible. There will be no crime, complete trust, no anger, no violence, no sin, period. No one will bully us, intimidate us or make us feel small. Our feelings will never be hurt. Don't cry any tears for me when I die. I can hardly wait.

The subject of dying has always fascinated me. Why cry when someone has gone on to heaven? That is the goal. That is the happiest day of life though it is the last day of life on earth. As long as the person had a relationship with Jesus, there is no need to fear death or  feel sorry for the deceased one. It is human nature to feel sorry for ourselves at a time like that. The ones left behind will miss the one who has departed this life. They will miss their goodness, the stability drawn from that person, their humor, their wisdom, their affection, etc. And so we cry.

Some may feel guilt that they didn’t spend more time with the loved one or that they wronged that person in some way. Others may grieve the “What ifs,” thinking that there may have been some way they or someone else could have prevented the death. Still others wish they could have said "Good-bye" or "I love you." But the Christian making the transition from this life to the eternal one will be living in heavenly bliss, euphoria, while those left behind may be beating themselves up unnecessarily. A lesson could be learned from those feelings, though. Spend more time with the family, say "I love you" daily, and don't say words you will regret.

God has control over when we die. He doesn't kill us but He allows it. It is His choice. We don't have that kind of power. 

• Job 7:1 - Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? 
• Job 1:21 - "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" 
• Job 14:5 - A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months
  and have set limits he cannot exceed.
• Psalm 139:16 - Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. *
• Isaiah 49:1 - Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

The idea of funerals being a celebration is catching on. It is a great time to share memories and photos and to fellowship with friends and family that we don’t see often enough. After my own mother’s funeral, several people mentioned that it was the funnest funeral they had ever attended. Mom always had a positive attitude toward life. She didn’t dwell on the negative or look for fault or even gripe. She was very witty, she sang, she played the piano by ear, she danced while Dad strummed on the bottom of a skillet, or she danced just for fun with her six daughters. She fished, and she enjoyed spending time with her family, individually and collectively. She loved her church family too. So we felt it was appropriate to incorporate some of those aspects of her life into the funeral. 

We adored our mother but we were ready to let her go. She had endured 13 years of Alzheimer’s though she didn’t want to have it a day since she watched her own mother die of the same disease. There came a time when we had to quit praying that she would somehow recover and change the prayer to one asking God to take her to be with Him, to take away her misery, and to give her a new, perfect body. Heaven was waiting yet we selfishly wanted to keep her with us.

I had a friend who was dying of cancer. He was on hospice but was not dying as quickly as he would've liked. He wanted people to pray that he would go quickly because he was ready. He commented that every time he almost got to heaven, people would start praying for him to get well and he would get dragged back to earth again. There is humor in that but there may be some truth in it too. Prayer is powerful. But when all is said and done, it is still God’s will when we die. It doesn’t happen without His knowledge and permission.

Another friend of mine was told she had terminal cancer. She came in a store where I was one day. Her daughter was with her. We talked about her situation and she voiced that she was in a win-win situation. If she gets to stay with her family, great. If she goes to heaven, even greater. She was a devoted Christian. Her daughter was naturally unhappy about losing her mother. Her mother had a wonderful perspective about impending death, though.

This joy and this hope for everything that has been promised in God's Word is not possible without a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the only way to heaven. Acts 4:12 says: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." He came that we might have abundant joy. II Corinthians 4:17-18 says: "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 

If the deceased refused Jesus, then we have cause to mourn for that person. The living who also refuse Christ need to be finding out what a relationship with Him is all about. They won't be disappointed. Life on earth will be better and eternal life in heaven with Him is promised. They too can anticipate the day of their death with joy. 

--Becky Wall

*My favorite of these verses.

key words: #joyindeath #fearofdeath #preparedforheaven #earthisnotourhome #everyonedies