Scared to Death

"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in me....I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am." (NLT) -John 14:1,3 Wow. Max Lucado named his chapter "Scared to Death" and I just couldn't think of a better one for this post. The chapter's subject in "Fearless" is one that is easy to lie about. I have lied about it. I imagine you have too. This is one of those things Christians lie about to appear more devout....to appear to trust the Word...more than we sometimes do. The fear of death. A Christian isn't supposed to fear death, are we? We're supposed to look forward to it, so if we ever have any fear about it, we keep it quiet. We don't want to appear untrusting...like we don't believe what the Word says. So we say all the right things:"I don't fear death at all." "I welcome death". "I can't wait." I have said those things, and on one plain I really mean them. On another, however, that fear of the unknown is there. In our culture, we have pushed death as far away from reality as we possibly can. Much of the time, we send people to the nursing home or hospital to die, although that may be changing a bit. We don't talk much about it, as if saying it out loud somehow brings it on. Then when death comes, especially to a young person or child, it becomes a tragedy beyond words. We make sure the body is in a funeral home or cremated quickly so we have to deal with the reality as little as possible. Most funerals are sad, rather than a celebration of homecoming. Truth is, we feel sorry for ourselves for our loss of that person's companionship, not overjoyed at his or her homecoming if that is the case. And if it isn't the case, well that's not even going to be talked about. Too horrible to even think about. Years ago, however, death was as much a part of life as birth. A person's body was "laid out" in the parlor or living room before burial. Usually one person stayed awake by the casket all night. When you woke the next morning the body was still in the parlor. Very real. Not scary. Someone went out and dug the burial spot and the body was taken and buried. You couldn't ignore it....it was right'in your face'. People who were sick and dying were at home, and all the family members witnessed the process. And although I am certain they saw some very difficult things, I believe they had a healthier view of death than we do. By removing the event as far as possible from our everyday life we have increased the 'scariness' if you will of death. We don't witness it as much, so it is out there looming in the darkness, a frightening 'monster' we don't know well. And what we don't know is often more scary than what we do know. The Bible is pretty clear about what awaits us if we are followers of Christ. John Chapter 14 verses 1-4 says: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." (NIV) He gives us some pretty clear information. He asks us to: *Not be troubled *Believe in Him *He's going to prepare for our arrival *He will come back and take us there *We know the way If we believe one word of the Bible, we have to believe that those of us who have made Him Lord of our lives are going to be with Him in His Father's house. He tells us not to be troubled or afraid. Hard stuff, I know all too well. But something to strive for. Lucado says that the audience Jesus was speaking to were hearing an amazing thing. Unlike us, they had never imagined anyone returning from the dead and rescuing others from death. We, however, have the Bible stories of Lazarus and others Jesus brought back to life from death. And our ultimate example, Jesus himself. We also have modern-day people who claim to have had "near-death" experiences. People who say they have 'died' then come back to life to tell others what they saw. People like Colton Burpo, the 4 year old son of a pastor who tells of his trip to heaven. He even talked about meeting a sister there, not knowing his parents had lost a baby before him. A recent story I read was "To Heaven and Back" written by Dr. Mary Neal, and orthopedic spine surgeon from Wyoming. She 'died' in a kayak accident and speaks about knowing at the time she had to come back to help her family through the death of her son, an event that actually did happen years later in an accident. Very imteresting reading. I don't know about you, but although those stories are interesting and sensational, there is one story I KNOW is true. What the Bible tells me about heaven is something I can take to the bank. I know that when I close my eyes in death, that I will see Jesus. I can't imagine the joy that will bring. He promises me that someday all will be well: " And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3-4(NIV) The promise of everlasting life with the God of the universe. It makes this life, the one that seems so precious and irreplaceable, seem nothing in comparison. By believing what the Word tells us, we have nothing to fear. Absolutely nothing. The only thing we have to be 'Scared to Death' about is unsaved loved ones. I have a few of those and I know you do too. Scares me to death. So I will continue to pray for them, look for opportunities to share with them, and ask God to intervene in their lives. Then, when all my family is headed there with me, I have NOTHING to be 'scared to death' about. What about you?