None of us like to talk about death. Just the thought of it saddens our hearts. When we experience the loss of a loved one, our world falls apart, and some may take longer to recover than others. Nevertheless, we would prefer not to go down that road at all. Although the topic is gloomy, my assignment is to help us look at it from a different angle. Being part of a bereavement team at my church and having been exposed to several funeral services, I started pondering death. Being afraid of dying or experiencing the death of a loved one, I began to question God about it. I remember one day, as I was praying, God gave me a revelation concerning death and how death is not the problem, but a life without Jesus is. I have realized that we should not really be afraid of death, but we should have the fear of not having a Christ-centered life. In the book of Revelation, John was on the Island of Patmos, and while he was there, he had many visions. John often received the command to write down what he saw and heard because they are trustworthy and true (Revelation 21:5). What caught my attention about what John saw and heard as he talked about the seals was the souls of those who were slain. John said, When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Then a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” (Revelation 6: 9-11). As we use our imaginations, there are three points that we need to highlight from these verses as they relate to the topic, and these are: The souls of those who had been slain, what these souls were complaining about, and the fact that these souls were given a white robe and were told to rest a little while longer. So, the point is that these souls were martyred for keeping their faith in Christ, yet they could still speak to God. Another point is that these same souls were given a white robe and told to rest a little longer. So these souls could speak and voice their complaints, and they could hear God tell them to rest a little longer. The word ‘rest’ in verse 11 makes a lot of sense because we saw in Scripture where Jesus told the crowd to go away. After all, the girl whom they thought was dead, Jesus told them that “The girl is not dead but asleep” (Matthew 9: 24). Inother words, it is only those who are asleep who can rest, not those who are dead. Jesus Himself also said in Mark 12: 27 that “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, and that the Sadducees were badly mistaken!”
So, if death is not the problem and we shouldn’t be afraid of it, then what should we really be concerned about?
Before we consider that, we must remember that Jesus came to this world as a spotless Lamb. One who knew no sin. He was tempted and persecuted just like we are. He suffered a lot, was humiliated, was crucified and died, yet He never sinned. Jesus lived a consecrated life with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, death could not hold Him: “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. Death can only have power where sin is embedded. So, Jesus, the spotless Lamb, lived on earth, died, and rose on the third day with the keys of death and Hades in His hands (Revelation 1:17-18). This also means that anyone who lives and dies in Him will rise too. Do you know that God can raise anyone who dies in Christ instantly? I personally think that God chooses not to do it this way to avoid confusion on earth and to keep things in order, but this is not a big deal for God. Throughout the Bible, death seems to be the least concern to God because death is not the problem, but dying without Jesus is. Truth be told, some of us have seen this type of miracle from God before. Some of us have seen God bring someone back from a near-death experience, a coma, or when doctors have pulled the plug. We’ve seen God do these miracles before, so death is obviously not the problem.
When Jesus died, He died with the germ of resurrection in Him; He died while He was still Spirit-filled. So, we need to experience this, and our loved ones need to experience the resurrection power of God as well. We should be more concerned about them giving their lives to Christ than not having them with us anymore when it’s their time to exit the world. We want God to take them under His wings. We want them to receive salvation in Christ, have transformed hearts, and abide in Christ until the end.
And how do we collaborate with God in that regard?
Two things are essential: #1) we must never stop praying on their behalf, no matter what it looks like, and #2) we must preach and live out the gospel in season and out of season. Look how beautiful this thing is: Scripture says in James 5:16: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Jesus told His disciples that if they abide in Him and follow His commands, they may ask Him for anything in His name, and He will do it (John 14:12-14); that includes our petitions for our loved ones. When we make God our priority and live righteously, we become God’s vessels He can use to bring others to Christ, including our loved ones. The Bible says that “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Therefore, it is God’s desire for people to know Christ. So, prayers of salvation on behalf of our loved ones are God’s will because He doesn’t want anyone to perish but for everyone to understand the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus Christ, and accept Him as their personal Savior. Therefore, whatever we pray in His name shall be given to us.
The second important thing that we’ve mentioned earlier is that we must preach and live out the gospel in season and out of season. Generally, we need to be His Kingdom’s representatives here on earth. So, our lives must be a testimony to others. Our desires should be for people to have a relationship with Christ so that when it’s time for them to exit this world, we won’t even have to worry about their next destination because death will not be a problem at that time.
I believe that is why God wants us to speak His Word to our kids and pass it down from generation to generation. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) God also promises health and long life to those who worship Him and follow His teachings. (Exodus 23: 25, Psalm 91:16, Proverbs 3:1-2) Also, in Luke 21: 12-19, Jesus gave His disciples the secret to life and instructions on how to win life. So, if we really want to follow His patterns, our desires will be for people, including our loved ones, to be one with Christ, to know the truth, and get their house in order; so, they too can win life. Nothing is more important than this because Jesus Himself did it and is willing to teach us how to overcome through His Spirit. If we obey Him, we’ll win either way. We’ll win on this earth and in the afterlife. Nothing else on earth can beat this beautiful package.
So, what does Jesus do after we accept Him as our personal Savior? Why is this important anyway?
Jesus does not want us to accept Him as our Savior because He is trying to come up with many people for heaven, nor is He trying to make our lives miserable as if this is the price to pay for what He’s done on the cross. Jesus wants us to accept Him because He wants us to live an abundant and righteous life here on earth with the help of His Spirit.
And why do we need to live a righteous life?
Remember that when sin entered the world, everything changed. God told Adam that the day he ate of the forbidden fruit, he would die (Genesis 2: 16-17). This became a problem because when Adam ate the fruit, He not only experienced physical death but also spiritual death. Now everything else started to die. Adam and Eve saw a tree die for the first time. There were no more perpetual green leaves. The branches dried up and fell off the trees. Animals died as well. Adam and Eve could no longer dream the way they used to, and that was the consequence of their sin.
So, Jesus walked this earth to solve that problem. That’s why, when Peter told Jesus that He would not endure the cross, Jesus rebuked him (Matthew 16: 21-23) because His mission was to save Humanity through His sacrificial blood and to hold the keys of death and Hades. So, Jesus, who knew no sin, had to go through a process, and yet He did not sin. He had to get things straight once and for all. We, too, must go through the same process. That’s why Jesus commands us to force our way through the narrow gate. (Luke 13:24). Jesus wants us to let go of a life of sin and cling to righteousness, meaning to let go of anger, jealousy, bitterness, etc. We may not understand it today, but it will all make sense in the end. The goal is total victory over death and to be able to say “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). We don’t want the wrath of God, and we don’t want to perish. We want to have eternal life, and Jesus died in our stead to help us. Jesus offers us the narrow road, and He Himself went down that road successfully. We saw Him rise from the dead on the third day. Death cannot hold anyone who lives righteously before God. Scripture says that “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection; the second death has no power over them.” (Revelation 20:6). No wonder Paul says in Philippians 1:21, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” Even though Paul was not one of the twelve disciples of Christ, we can say that he received a similar revelation concerning death as John and the rest of them. So, we will come to a point in our spiritual walk with Christ where certain revelation will give us peace in life. So,it makes sense why God wants us to speak and teach His Word to our kids, our loved ones, and the whole world and intercede on their behalf because the goal is to pass down what we’ve learned, seen and heard from generation to generation so that we all can live life even more abundantly and not have to worry about our transition after we’ve completed our journey here on earth.
Lord, please help us to get our house in order, and please “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12) in Jesus’ Name, Amen!
SCRIPTURES
“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.” Romans 8:11
“Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11: 25-26
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