Death & Dying
Death and dying have been my point of contemplation lately, which makes sense since it was this week about two thousand years ago that Jesus began his journey to the cross. There he would die to provide a way for renewed friendship with God. With this in mind when my son Elijah, on the way back from school, asked about dying stars and dying in general, I saw a gospel moment.
Do you know how fast our sun is dying? My 7th grader does and he is concerned for the earth. Among his questions were “Mum, what if the sun dies while people are still on earth?” My response “the God who made the sun close to the earth then placed people on it is able to sustain it while we remain on it… though we need to find ways to protect the gift of earth God has given us.” “But what if it dies, mum?” I said, “then we enter a new state of living.”
“Journey to the cross”
By now my kids know that I am a touch weird and they all turned to look at me, so I explained. I know next to nothing about dying. I have never actually died, so if I am wrong, forgive my ignorance. As I write, the sweet smell of the frankincense that I am burning fills my nose. That’s like my life and yours on earth, a burning incense, either sweet smelling or noxious but it is fading. James 4:14 However, we are also eternal since we are all created in the image of the eternal God. You will either live eternally with God or without God.
“You will either live eternally with God or without God.”
Fading here on earth merely changes your placement on living. We get sad when those we love stop living before our eyes because we will miss them, but they still live beyond the ability of our eyes to see. “Kid,” I said, “when water becomes gas, you don’t see it but you know it’s still there right?” So, this week friends, as we remember the death of Jesus our Messiah and friend, remember that unlike vapor He died, but He did something extraordinary; never done before or after, He rose from death. He died to give life then rose up from death and continues to sustain life.
xo,
Shalom!
