Death: The Ultimate Faith!

 

 

 

I often think about death.  Not in a morbid way, but in a faithful way. We are surrounded by the reminders of death every day.  By watching the news regularly, you can’t miss it.  Seems as if it comes when it wants and takes whoever goes near its path.  As believers we understand that death is not prejudice.  We have all known of someone who passed and it really seemed like the timing was off.  We cannot understand so we decide to put it in God’s hands, and we continue living…. for now.

The bible says that it is appointed unto man once to die and after that judgment.  Which means outside the rapture, we will all die.

The thing that intrigues me most about death is the fact that to me, that is the ultimate test of our faith.  Oh we can talk faith a lot when we are living.  But in death, how you have lived, what you have believed and whatever is about to happen is about to happen!  No take backs, no restarts, no recommitments, no more time for questions and answers. 

 

Revelations 22:11-12

He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

 

Yes, I think about death often.  I realize that if I really believe anything, I have to have it secured, BEFORE I die.  Think about it, what if our believing was wrong?  What if we got it in our mind that everyone is going to heaven, no matter what?  Or maybe with popular thinking now, we believe that death is just that?  We just cease to exist.   Some may feel we get another chance to come back to this earth as something or someone else… but what if we are wrong?  What if the bible is right and we choose each day what we believe by how we live?  Then when we die, God requires what He said He would and we come up short? 

 

Now you see why I think about death a lot! 

Because I believe it effects how I live.

 

I know what someone is saying right now!  “Well Jacqui, what if what you believe is wrong?”  What if there is not a God who is holding eternity for us?  What if we are just worm food?

Before I answer that, let me take another trail.  If we believe at all that God is Creator and that our existence is because of Him, then we understand the quality and value He has placed in us.  We are the only creation that lives with a choice!  Animals work with instinct, but we get to choose if we trust Him, if we believe Him.  God almighty allows us to choose Him, or reject Him. 

What a waste to just become worm food!  What a waste to have the ability to invent electricity, to find diamonds in rough places, to be able to go to the moon, drill for oil or even simply construct high rises, roads and bridges!  To have the ability to invent the telephone, to build an airplane- a huge structure that man figured out how to get off the ground and now we enjoy air travel. The talent for singing, sewing, cooking and everything else.   Not to mention computers that store what you put on them, machines that can build things for us.  Think about mankind, all that knowledge and then we die to feed worms?  I don’t believe that.  God put too much in us. 

 What about reincarnation?  The ability to come back as… I don’t know… a cow?? Some believe we come back as something that will teach us lessons that we didn’t learn already.  Again, why would God make us in His image, then have us come back in the image of a created thing that does not give Him the glory the way we can?  And we give Him glory, by choice.

 Back to the question for me.

 

What if what I have believed about God holding eternity for me was wrong?  What if when I close my eyes they stay closed?  What if I had no consciousness of anything afterwards?  What if I was just… gone?  

If I found after death that it didn’t happen the way I have believed, at least I can say today that I tried to treat people right.  I have lived in a way that was considerate of others, perhaps I have blessed someone during my lifetime and the “memory of the just is blessed.” perhaps they are remembering me in a good way. 

 

I wouldn’t want to be someone who did everything to please myself, running over others and treating them badly.  Fighting and hurting people just because I thought there were no consequences.  I think based on what I believe now, someone’s life should be better because I lived. Someone should have a better existence because I chose to do something to help them. That in itself is a reward!  So in my estimation, I have nothing to lose living a life for God, and treating others right. It is a win for me if I was wrong, and a win if I was right.

 

In conclusion, I am so glad that I truly believe what I do.  I am glad that my life is lining up daily to what I trust God is doing in me.  He is still working on me, and I expect Him to continue this work until that day. Peace comes in really believing what I say now.  Peace when looking at death, comes in knowing that in my final breath, I won’t be second guessing my decision to serve God. So when I close my eyes for the last time, I expect to see Him and live with Him eternally. Just like He said. 

 

That my friend, is the Ultimate Faith.