Few things elicit more fear and apprehension than the thought of dying. From movies to novels to campfire stories, humanity often shows a fascination with death on the one hand and yet is inwardly petrified of it on the other. This paradox reveals a deep longing to know what is on “the other side” and an inward hope that it is something good. The scripture in Ecclesiastes 3:11 reveals that God has “set eternity in the hearts of men.” This is a sobering thought, likely intended by God to sober us, but not to make us afraid.
As followers of Christ, we need not fear death. In fact, we have every reason to look forward to the day when God will graciously call us home. It’s important to make a clear distinction here because God makes one: for believers in Christ, death is not something to fear but rather something to eventually embrace.
In a previous post, I shared the story of a father of two sons who, just before he passed away, said, “I feel like a little boy on Christmas Eve!” His last emotions in this life were anything but fear; they were feelings of joy and expectancy. However, for those who have willfully rejected or neglected Christ, they have every reason to fear death. Scripture teaches that “It is appointed for man once to die, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
Consider a few verses written to help us with this. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The answer is clear: “It is gone!” Jesus conquered death on the cross and gave us hope through His resurrection. Hebrews 2:14-15 explains how He did it: “He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” This powerful verse reminds us that Jesus didn’t just tell us not to be afraid—He broke the power of death over us. Now, we can live free from the grip of fear and be filled with joyous hope for eternal life in the beautiful homeland God has prepared for us.
If you have questions about your own eternity, please read Heaven Series #11: “How can I be 100% sure I am going to heaven?” Find a Bible or search online for these simple verses: John 3:16-17, Romans 6:23, Romans 8:38-39, and Romans 10:9-10. Ask Jesus to come into your heart today.
“My home is in heaven… I’m just traveling through this world.”
~ Billy Graham
Blessings,
Mike Tobey
Facebook
—————————
ORIGINAL VERSION:
There are few things that elicit more fear and apprehension than the thought of dying. From movies to novels to stories around the campfire… man can often show a fascination with death on the one hand, and yet be inwardly petrified of it on the other. This paradox I believe, actually reveals something… that we have a deep longing to KNOW what is on “the other side”, and even an inward hope that it is something good. The scripture actually reveals in Ecc. 3:11, that God has “set eternity in the hearts of men”. This is a sobering thought, and God probably intended for it to sober us…, but not for us to be afraid of it. As a follower of Christ, we need not fear death at all, and actually have every reason to look forward to the day when God will graciously call us home. Of course, we need to make a clear distinction here… because God makes one. For the believer in Christ, death is in fact, nothing to be afraid of… but rather something to be eventually embraced. In a previous post, I shared the story of a father of two sons who told them just before he passed away, “I feel like a little boy on Christmas Eve!”. His last emotions in this life were anything but fear. They were feelings of joy and expectancy! However, for those who have willfully rejected or neglected Christ, they have every reason to fear death. The scripture teaches that “It is appointed for man once to die, and after that to face judgment.” Heb. 9:27Let’s consider a few verses that are written to help us with this… Paul writes in I Cor. 15:55, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The answer to these two questions is the same… “It is gone!” Jesus conquered death on the cross and then gave us hope in His resurrection. Heb. 2:14-15 shows us how He did it. “He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” What a powerful verse, if you’ll take the time to really think about it. Jesus didn’t just tell us to not be afraid… He actually broke the power of death over us. Now we can live a life free from the grip of fear… and be filled with a joyous hope for eternal life in the beautiful homeland God has prepared for us.If there is a question in your mind about your own eternity, please read Heaven Series #11 “How can I be 100% sure I am going to heaven?” Find a Bible or search in Google for these simple verses: (John 3:16-17… Romans 6:23… Romans 8:38-39… Romans 10:9-10)… and ask Jesus to come into your heart today.
“My home is in heaven… I’m just traveling through this world.”
~ Billy Graham
Blessings,
Mike Tobey: www.facebook.com/miketobey10 )