In the last three days two of my friends fathers have died. It has caused me to reflect...
Death is kind of the forgotten right of passage. One that we all must take sooner or later. Most of us think that day is far off, like a sight we cannot see because we cannot fathom it-- but fathom it or not, it is coming, and for some sooner than others. And for some sooner than you think.
Death is not spoken of much. It is covered over by make-up and poetry so often it seems to come and go without much notice. We do the opposite of what God's people have done throughout history. We move on quickly, tell people to move forward and try to heal swiftly so that life is bearable. When we do that we deny people of what it means to be human. Most other cultures in the world mourn for weeks or months, in the Jewish culture years, when somone dies--and rightly so! To be human should mean that we mourn death. That is why the prophets, and Jesus, wept when friends died (John 11.35). That is why there is the book of Lamentations, why Jesus says his people will celebrate with those who celebrate and mourn with those who mourn--because God's people are supposed to lament when death takes a life. That is why the Psalms are filled with lament--when we don't mourn we are acting out something the world has convinced us of: we pretend that death is alright, that it is normal, something to heal from--but let the Scriptures wash over you when you are tempted to such lunacy, such blasphemy! Death is not normal! It is not natural! It is the odd thing out in this world. It entered as the result of sin and seperation from God (from life itself). You know that though, because you feel it.
To borrow a phrase from James "Death is a vapor here today but gone tomorrow" that is what we celebrate at Easter, and beyond that, every time we pray in the name of the risen Lord Jesus--that death has in principle been defeated. That is what the gospel is about. The gospel is not about going to heaven when a person dies, it is about a truly human life here and now forgiven from sin and living in the Spirit connected to God which results in going to be with God when we expire, but even that is an intermediate stage--beyond "life after death" (heaven if you will) there is something else, the great hope of the gospel: 'life after "life after death"'--resurrection life in a renewed body. That is where this story is going--not to harps and disembodied bliss (more a picture of medieval art than biblical theology), but a new heaven and a new earth--praise God!
So, as you live today, as you breathe and eat and sleep and kiss your loved ones and plan and drive, realize that death is just a moment away from you, but that it does not have to be the last scene of your story--for those who trust in Christ, it is but a temporary scene, which gives way to a renewed creation where we will eat and live and run and play and work again, in the presence of our risen Lord and together as family and friends again.
Death is not spoken of much. It is covered over by make-up and poetry so often it seems to come and go without much notice. We do the opposite of what God's people have done throughout history. We move on quickly, tell people to move forward and try to heal swiftly so that life is bearable. When we do that we deny people of what it means to be human. Most other cultures in the world mourn for weeks or months, in the Jewish culture years, when somone dies--and rightly so! To be human should mean that we mourn death. That is why the prophets, and Jesus, wept when friends died (John 11.35). That is why there is the book of Lamentations, why Jesus says his people will celebrate with those who celebrate and mourn with those who mourn--because God's people are supposed to lament when death takes a life. That is why the Psalms are filled with lament--when we don't mourn we are acting out something the world has convinced us of: we pretend that death is alright, that it is normal, something to heal from--but let the Scriptures wash over you when you are tempted to such lunacy, such blasphemy! Death is not normal! It is not natural! It is the odd thing out in this world. It entered as the result of sin and seperation from God (from life itself). You know that though, because you feel it.
To borrow a phrase from James "Death is a vapor here today but gone tomorrow" that is what we celebrate at Easter, and beyond that, every time we pray in the name of the risen Lord Jesus--that death has in principle been defeated. That is what the gospel is about. The gospel is not about going to heaven when a person dies, it is about a truly human life here and now forgiven from sin and living in the Spirit connected to God which results in going to be with God when we expire, but even that is an intermediate stage--beyond "life after death" (heaven if you will) there is something else, the great hope of the gospel: 'life after "life after death"'--resurrection life in a renewed body. That is where this story is going--not to harps and disembodied bliss (more a picture of medieval art than biblical theology), but a new heaven and a new earth--praise God!
So, as you live today, as you breathe and eat and sleep and kiss your loved ones and plan and drive, realize that death is just a moment away from you, but that it does not have to be the last scene of your story--for those who trust in Christ, it is but a temporary scene, which gives way to a renewed creation where we will eat and live and run and play and work again, in the presence of our risen Lord and together as family and friends again.
1 comment:
Thanks Mark. Sometimes we can be so selfish that someone elses death can be an inconvenience to our lives - we can't even fathom what it would be life to mourn for a whole year.
Post a Comment