Learning to Not Fear Death

Death is something most of us fear. Even Christians. Sure, we go to heaven when we die. Yes, we get to be with Jesus when we kick the bucket, but we’re still afraid. We’ve never done this before, so we’re anxious about the whole trip.

Not Lazarus. My overactive imagination pictures Lazarus in his old age. Lazarus was the friend of Jesus who had died, but four days later, Jesus called him back to life. (See John 11.) I picture Lazarus as an old geezer, and he knows he’ll soon die—again. I don’t know what was going through his head, but I am convinced of one thing: He was not anxious or afraid.

We don’t have that luxury. We don’t know what the moment of death is like from personal experience. Many of us have seen others pass in their final moments. I was with both my parents when their last breath came, but what was it like for them?

We don’t know, so we get anxious. Many are anxious because they are enamored with this life. Even Christians can be so comfortable with this life with its creature comforts that we give lip service to being with Jesus, but we’d rather stay here, thank you very much.

We would do well to see death from God’s perspective.

I can’t tell you why good Christians die. I don’t know why young believers get sick or face a terrible accident and die. I am not about to give pat answers, but all I can do is rest in this truth:

“The death of his faithful ones is valuable in the Lord’s sight” (Ps. 116:15).

The Old Testament patriarch Job suffered terribly, and he questioned God. When God responded, though, He never answered Job’s question. Instead, God asked Job a series of questions which left Job with this conclusion. “I don’t know how God did the mighty works of creation, so how can I possibly understand the ‘why’ behind what He does?” And with that, Job was satisfied. He trusted God and was satisfied.

I won’t pretend to know how God works or why He allows death to hit different people the way it does. But I am willing to trust that “the death of his faithful ones is valuable in the Lord’s sight.”

Some people hold on to a “promise” that God will deliver them from whatever illness or disease is robbing them of life. They hold to verses like Psalm 72:14:

“He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious in his sight.”

God may rescue in just the way they hope. But God redeems in another way. Most people view life and death as two different things. You’re either alive or you’re dead. For the follower of Christ, though, there is just life. Period. One eternal life with a transitional point we call the moment of death. That moment of death is the rescue. In that moment, those who trust in Jesus find themselves redeemed from oppression and violence!

The prophet Isaiah said it this way:

“The righteous person perishes, and no one takes it to heart; the faithful are taken away, with no one realizing that the righteous person is taken away because of evil. He will enter into peace—they will rest on their beds—everyone who lives uprightly” (Isa. 57:1-2).

Isaiah was addressing the evil surroundings of the righteous person. There is debate whether the righteous person who “is taken away because of evil” is taken away as a result of evil actions or is taken way to be spared from evil. (I lean toward the latter.) Regardless of how you view the passage, the end is still the same—and it is glorious! The righteous person is delivered. He enters into peace. He finds rest in the arms of God.

Let’s see God’s love in that. God hates sin and loves us. Through Christ, He did the work of removing the guilt and penalty for our sin. Through Christ, we are rescued from the power of sin, and when we die, we are rescued from the presence of sin.

The older I get, the more I look forward to this. I’m sick of the battle with sin. I am so over this world and all the things culture tries to convince me are cool. My death in Christ offers something I’m eager to embrace: experiencing the love and joy of Christ and the beauties of His creation in a way I can’t imagine.