Nobody talks about it, but it’s firmly planted in the back of everyone’s mind. In fact, if you want to kill the conversation at a dinner party, just bring up the subject. It’s uncomfortable. It’s awkward. However, I’ve often thought that strange. For something that is absolutely, 100 percent inevitable to every human being, every animal, every living thing, we avoid it like the plague. Then, when it happens to a loved one, an acquaintance, or even a famous movie star, we’re confronted again with our own mortality. Of course, I’m talking about death otherwise known as “bought the farm”, the end, passing away, passing on, loss of life, expiry, expiration, a departure from life, final exit. We avoid the conversations and resort to “euphemisms” because the reality of death and dying makes us feel uncomfortable.
But…here’s my thought. “Knowing the destination makes the journey easier and more of an adventure.” Even J.K. Rowling author of the Harry Potter series said, “death is but the next great adventure.”
To put it another way, if you don’t know where you’re going, life will rarely live your life with passion and abandon. Fear and anxiety will more easily raise their ugly heads when faced with “not shopping at Walmart anymore” (another euphemism).
Jesus’ solution is found in John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” … He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
Good stuff…and just one more word. For those who have lost a loved one…chew on
Isaiah 57:1-2 from the New Living Translation of the Bible. “Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die.”