“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” Eccles 7:1
“…through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” Heb 2:14
“…that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Heb 2:9
I remember before I knew the Lord, how very much afraid I was to die. I would never have admitted it, though. The ego constructs such powerful defense mechanisms, to keep it from contemplating unpleasant truths. I would rationalize away death, convincing myself it was a natural stage of life we all must pass. Of course, it helped that I was a healthy, young man with potentially decades longer to live.
But I pondered the subject, once in a while meditating deep enough to realize how scared I really was. I was glad I did not have to face the dreaded Grim Reaper anytime soon, so I thought.
How different things became after the Lord entered my life. God quickened in me a conscious, breathing spirit; the new creation in Christ awakened in my heart. At the same time, part of me died.
Being certain of the Creator’s existence yields its own implications. It becomes incumbent upon you to share the joy with others; to glorify His name in your life. We crucify self daily to walk after Him. (1 Cor. 15:31; Gal 5:24). He in us will increase if put off our old self and decrease (John 3:30).
The process of sanctification means to be set apart for the Lord’s purposes. My sanctification came through much chastisement, but I was always thankful to be set apart, to have been forknown before the universe was created. Sanctification can occur through obedience or chastisement. As a child of God, the Father will discipline his children. He will humble you through enforced humiliation if you do not voluntarily humble yourself. He will transform some through pain, tears, and supplication if needed.
If He has called our name then He has also provided you everything needed to crucify your affections and lead a victorious life of faith. But He will use calamity to get your attention, if need be.
Whether sanctification occurs through voluntary submission or enforced humility, the amazing thing is that no believer enlists to follow God. Believers are not volunteers but are drafted. You cannot claim grace unless grace first claims you. One cannot choose Christ; it is the Father exerting that soft tug upon the heart and gently drawing the believer to Himself through the Spirit (John 6:44). We are incapable of choosing God, and if anyone thinks that they did, then it is probably the self-righteous trend in the sin nature at work.
God whispered the name of believers into the cosmos before the creation of the universe (Eph 1:4). To understand this is the beginning of sensing that gentle call upon your heart, the beginning of discerning that Spirit that moves you toward Love. Let no man believe he or she came to Christ purely of their own volition, but rather, that they were responding to a call upon their heart.
After I received Christ, I knew part of me would live for eternity and part of me would die. Death no longer scared me any more.
So whenever your aging body reminds you of how numbered your days are, whenever mortal infirmities remind you of how you draw closer to dying, take comfort in the fact that:
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”
Psalm 116:15
He will not leave your soul in the grave, but will raise you a new immortal body. The spiritually mature believer understands that the day of death is better than the day of one’s physical birth (Ecc. 7:1). It is okay to romanticize over it. It is the day that we are reunited with our Beloved, the day we stare face-to-face into the eyes of the glorified Christ:
“And they shall see His face… and they need no candle, neither light of the sun”
Rev 22:4-5
WHY?
“…for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof”
Rev 21:23
If you are in covenant relationship with the Lord and have received Him into your heart, then death no longer has sting or victory over you (1 Cor. 15:55). At death, you will either be honored with martyrdom or comforted as your fleshly shell expires.
For the believer, God is a Lover—He simply takes your breath away. In dying grace, we swoon, exhaling our last, with complete trust that He will raise us up again and carry us over that bridge to eternity.
As a bride looks forward to her wedding day, so too does the mature believer look forward to death. For in that day we are married, truly becoming one with Christ. Until then, sing songs of joy and thanksgiving in the land of the living. And take comfort, with eager anticipation and expectation, because truly is the day of one’s death more blessed than the day of one’s birth (Ecc 7:1).
Larry Word
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