Devotion: Don't Be Afraid To Die

It is amazing to find people who claim to be believers, who are afraid to die.  This is not meant to be a criticism of anyone.  We are merely pointing out an observation that these same people who claim to be believers actually do believe in life after death, but still have this fear of death.  The unknown has always produced some amount of fear in all of mankind and death is one of those unknown things that we all will have to go through.  Not knowing, being unsure of, and having no control over the future tends to bring out a little anxiety in even the best of us.  Please do not get us wrong, we are not so naive to suggest that every believer shares in this fear of death for the same reasons.  Some are just selfish.  They love themselves and the things of this world more then they love God and the things of God.  They are not interested in pleasing God but solely interested in pleasing self.  They fear death because it would cause them to lose the things that they have come to cherish most in this life: their money, their status, their popularity, and themselves.  Even though they claimed to be believers, they have no hope for the future because they be not in Christ.

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul” (Matthew 16:24-26)?

Jesus posed this question to his disciples, “What does it benefit a man, if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?  Is there anything more important than a man’s soul?”  For those so-called believers who love the things of this world more than they love God, you have gained the world, but at what price?  Are the things of this world that important to you that you are willing to lose your soul for them?  Apparently so.  Jesus warns us to beware and to be on guard against every kind of greed, because our lives are not measured by the abundance of things that we have from the world (Luke 12:15).  So, this message is not for those so-called believers who fear death because it means the absolute end.  This message is for those believers who have denied themselves, turned from their selfish ways, and have chosen to follow Christ.  This message is for those believers who have taken up their cross, held them high so that the world can see what or who is important in this life.  This message is for those believers who are in Christ and yet, for whatever reason, are judt afraid of death.  Paul shares some interesting thoughts on death.

“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.  But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ.  So I really don’t know which is better.  I’m torn between two desires:  I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.  But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live” (Philippians 1:21-24NLT).

Paul’s whole life revolved around Christ, so for him to live meant that he would continue to be bold for Christ, but for him to die was even more of a benefit, it was a gain.  How can death be a gain?  For Paul, whether he lived or died mattered not, as long as his life brought honor to Christ.  However, Paul truly believed that death would be a gain for him, because he could go to be with Christ, which for him was something that he longed for.  So, for Paul, there was no fear of death through all of his trials and tribulations (II Corinthians 11:16-33) because he saw death as a gain.  Imagine the fearlessness we as true believers in Christ can experience in this life if we saw death as a gain instead of a loss.  This is not to suggest that believers just lay down, instead that the believer who is in Christ should not be imprisoned and held hostage by the fear of death.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died (those who have fallen asleep) so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died (those who have fallen asleep).  We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died (those who have fallen asleep).  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.  First, the believers who have died (the dead in Christ) will rise from their graves.  Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  Then we will be with the Lord forever.  So encourage each other with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT).

If you be a believer in Christ who is afraid to die, take heed, for this message is for you.  Every believer who is in Christ has hope for the future.  For the dead in Christ will be the first to rise up and the rest who are still alive and remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air, where we will be with him forever.  So let this message be a comfort and encouragement for those believers in Christ who are afraid to die.  Paul saw death as a gain, a benefit and we should see death the same way, not as something to fear.  So let us encourage other believers in Christ with these words.

We again give thanks to God for this avenue that he has given us to share his word through our devotonal.  We continually pray that God’s grace will be upon you and that these devotionals will be a blessing to you.  If you are blessed by them, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

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