Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life,
for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,
that he should live on forever and never see the pit.
Psalm 49:7-9
The winter of 2017 has not been cold at all, but it sure has been dark.
The months of January and February at our church have not been kind, death has truly become us. These deaths haven’t been the normal cases of elderly people hanging on through the holidays to say their last goodbye to loved ones – – oh no, most of these deaths have been shocking! A young man who just turned thirty leaving behind three young kids, a dear friend who fought cancer with courage just couldn’t fight any longer, and other heart-breaking stories of precious people leaving this earth way too soon. Way too soon.
Death is dark, painted in a deep hue of ink black.
When it comes to death, none of us have a choice in the matter. Like a Ford Model-T, it only comes in black. It is always dark, mysterious and final – – and it happens to us all. Our options are limited. But somehow we don’t really believe this; as one writer says, “It is a curious thing: the human incapacity to imagine finality.” We not only are incapable to imagine it, but we have taught ourselves to deny it and even believe we will defeat it.
“It won’t happen to me. Not yet at least. I have so much to do and accomplish.”
And then…
As you can see I have been thinking dark thoughts of late – – death has forced itself to the forefront of my mind. Some think this is morbid and unhealthy. In the face of so many friends dying, I find it necessary. I have realized once again what is truly important through contemplating the dark reality of the grave; it matters what is on the other side.
Some people don’t believe this.
People often live with a naive blind arrogance – – they think they can determine and choose the type of eternity they want. Like a car: “I want a 1965 Cherry-Apple Red Ford Mustang”, “Not me, I only buy Chevy’s – – I am going for a Silverado”, “Why not go for the best, a brand new 2017 Jet-Black Lamburgini.”
You are not the interior decorator of eternity – – you can’t go on Pinterest to figure out how you would like your home in paradise. There is only one heavenly architect, and for that matter, one door-keeper. You don’t make the rules, he does. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche believed the noblest of men was the one who “fights God, and triumphs over Him.” H. L, Menchen, a famous American literary critic once quipped, “Christian worship seems to me to be debasing rather than ennobling since it involved groveling before a Being who, if He really exists, deserves to be denounced instead of respected.”
Those words sound strong and confident, dangerous but courageous words by two rough and tumble men. But they offer no more hope to the dying than the mosquito who forms a rebellious fist before the human hand that is bearing down to smash. We all know a single child’s hand has more than enough power to pulverize the scrawny bug in an instant. Cannot the God who made the heavens with the word of his mouth do the same to arrogant men? Just because we desire something doesn’t make it true. And just because we claim ignorance (agnosticism) does not make some threat go away. So many people think they can outsmart God – – even though it is He that allows them to live in the first place. As Acts 17:28 so plainly states, “For in him we live and move and have our being.”
Go ahead, shake your fist at death. Even hold up your middle finger if you would like, some people think that makes them more intimidating. But when death comes, from my first-hand experience these past two months – or should I say these past 20 years – I have found the grave is as furious and unyielding as a freight train. So then, what are your options? When it comes to death, the grave, and the life beyond what choice do you have? Well…they are the same as if you were standing on the railroad tracks watching a freight train barrel towards you:
(1) You can deny the reality of it. Just turn your back, and start walking while telling yourself that the loud whistle you hear quickly approaching behind you is a nothing more than the poetry of fools. That high-screech sound is made up by superstitious men trying to keep you off the tracks.
(2) You can turn toward the train with arms outstretched hoping to stop its momentum on your own. If you just work up enough courage and concentration, you have everything inside of you to change reality. Charge the train, show it who’s boss, and stop it dead “in its tracks” (No pun intended).
(3) Escape. It is very simple: See Hebrews 2:1-3. . .
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard.”
and Acts 4:12. . .
“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Those are your options. Death is coming, I have seen it.
