Watching the news rarely brings encouragement or hope. Most of the focus is on what’s broken in the world. Death and tragedy from disease, war, violence, and drugs are often the headlines. The sad reality is, we have all been exposed to death in some shape or form. For many, that subject hits close to home.
Over the years, many of my family and friends have slowly slipped away. I have spoken at and attended many of their funerals. I shed many tears and mourned their loss. As my parents approach their 80’s, I am now faced with what’s ultimately to come.
When anxiety and fear about death start to creep in, I look to the one who destroyed it. When God raised Him from the dead, the keys to death, hell and the grave were snatched away. For those of us who have given our lives to Jesus, we are no longer slaves to fear of dying.
Max Lucado states it simply – “Death, a new adventure in existence. No need to dread it or ignore it. Because of Christ, you can face it.”
Do you fear death? Have you been prisoner to it all your life? Take heart, for the bible assures us of the hope to come.
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had[a] the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT