“Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is” (Psalm 39:4 RSV).
In both honor and dishonor, in life and death, all are the same for the one who seeks God with the whole heart. You will do well if you always keep the remembrance of death before you. Doesn’t sound very nice, does it? We don’t like to think about this matter, do we? But always remember that righteousness delivers from spiritual death. We all will die someday; that’s an absolute. Let us be concerned with what lies ahead on the other side of death.
You know if we set our minds on the flesh only, we come to fear death; but if we set our minds on the things that are above, we know then that our death will be the threshold to eternal life. Is this so very hard to believe? Worldly grief can’t deal with death, so it is a good thing to have spiritual grief instead.
When someone very close to us dies, do we grieve as one who has no hope whatsoever, or do we grieve as one who knows that God will take this soul to himself and comfort our loved one? Do not fear death or keep it in oblivion, dear reader, but instead, prepare yourself for it by repentance beforehand. Shun your bad habits as far as can be done. Make love your aim, for God is love. Death is surely a part of life, and it has meaning.
“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?’” (1 Corinthians 15: 54-55 RSV).
The Christian cross is our victory. We should always keep this cross before our eyes, especially when thinking about death.
This remembrance of death is by far the best way we could ever keep our lives in check and bring much meaning to our everyday lives. In fact, if we keep our ultimate death before us, we will never have any wants again, because we will then consider all earthly losses as nothing compared to the surpassing worth of knowing our Maker. Death is the threshold to eternal life. Do you believe this, and do you want this? If you are faced with any adversity today my friend, do yourself a favor and read the 23rd Psalm.
Copyright (C) 2010 by George Warholak. All rights reserved.