October 2, 2002
For this series on why God allows suffering, I had prepared an outline for each article. The past couple of weeks have been filled with so many other responsibilities that I’d no time to write, or even think about writing.
Then came Sunday, September 15. My mother woke that morning with her usual cheerful attitude, and asked her care givers in the nursing home to play some music on her tape deck. As they began to prepare her for the day, she bowed her head and died.
My mother had Alzheimer's yet still recognized her family and maintained a remarkable attitude. She was happy, thankful, and as her nurses said, a joy to take care of.
With great sorrow in our loss, I’ve fumbled through my responsibilities in preparation for her funeral. Today, I determined to finish the next article in this series. When I opened the file, my first line said, “God allows suffering because this is the way that He takes us home.”
Death is inevitable. When someone is ill, my husband often says, “We are all terminal, but most of us don’t know when — so we need to prepare for it when we are alive.”
Most of us do not know how death will come either. Will it be an accident? Illness? Great suffering? Even “natural causes” involve some pain as the body ages and common illnesses or organ failures join hands with death to carry us from this world. Suffering and dying usually go together.
That said, some suffer more than others. We have two doctors living nearby. One told me a horror story of “the worst death I have ever seen” and another talked about patients who linger for months, even years, in pain. They want to die but cannot.
Some advocate euthanasia as the means to overcome the pain of dying. Others will not go that far but will ask for morphine or some medication to ease the pain. Even though many people seem to fear pain far more than dying, the Bible calls death the final enemy.
However, for God’s people, there are no guarantees of an easy death. Hebrews speaks of Old Testament saints who were stoned, sawed in two, and put to death by the sword. Jesus Himself died a horrible death. He suffered more than we can imagine.
Even so, the New Testament also says that Jesus endured the Cross “for the joy set before him” and that some of God’s people “were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might face a better resurrection.” That is our hope.
Hebrews 2 says that Jesus shared in our humanity so “by His death he might destroy 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.”
Because of Jesus, we no longer need to be afraid of suffering or dying. Those who believe in Christ know that because He lives, we also will live.
Suffering does not always imply punishment. Suffering does not always lead to a greater good, at least in this life, but in the suffering of death, it can be the doorway to eternal life with Christ. That is the greatest good of all.
Ultimately, God takes responsibility for our suffering. He knows all about us. As a butterfly must not be helped out of its cocoon, or a chick aided through the shell of an egg, our Maker may have an unseen purpose in the struggle of some to move from the confinements of this life to the freedom of eternal life.
Yet for others, God has a different plan, perhaps just to show the gentleness of Jesus. My mother’s suffering was minimal. Because she knew Jesus and was not afraid of death, when her time came, she went without any resistance.
Showing posts with label Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Death. Show all posts
Monday, July 9, 2018
Friday, January 13, 2017
Death and Eternal Life .......... Parables 536
December 3, 1996
The American Medical Association reports a study concerning terminally ill patients. According to this study, a majority of people from certain ethnic groups would rather their doctor did not tell them they were dying. They felt this information should go to the family instead. In contrast, people from other ethnic groups were more likely to want to hear it for themselves.
Death is never an easy matter to discuss, much less stare in the face; however, terminally ill people may have good reasons for wanting to be told. Perhaps they want time to get their personal affairs in order or say goodbye to loved ones. Some may dislike playing games with reality. If death looms on the horizon, why hide the fact or pretend it never will happen? Those who would rather not be told may believe their family can make better decisions for them.
The report did not mention belief systems of these various groups, just that African-Americans and European-Americans had the least amount of trouble being told of imminent death. These two groups have lived longer with the American philosophy that stresses personal individuality so may feel they can handle the news “by myself.”
On the other hand, these two groups also have had a longer relationship with Christian beliefs. Their desire to know could be influenced by those beliefs. Death, while still a mystery in some ways, is not a huge threat to Christians who personally know the One who conquered it.
People of all religions speculate what will happen the moment someone dies. Some say nothing — the body goes into the ground and that is the end of everything. This is Nihilism and offers no hope.
Others say death is the entrance into another life, one in which the person who died is reincarnated into another life form. Many eastern religions and some segments of New Age teach reincarnation.
The Bible gives quite another version. It reports that Christ rose from the dead and declares that death is not the end but a transition. It also affirms that “it is appointed unto man once to die...” not several times. Reincarnation, according to the Bible, is a false hope.
Scripture offers hope in the Incarnation — the event of God entering our world, pulling on humanity and offering Himself to us as Savior from sin, and Lord of our lives. He proved death is not the end by bringing others to life and by rising from the dead Himself.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes this: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...”
He then describes what happens to us when we die: “The body that is sown (dead) is perishable, it is raised imperishable... it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power... Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep(die), but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed... then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’”
The Scripture also reasons this way: “If Christ has not been raised, then the dead are not raised, our faith is futile and we are still in our sins... those who have died are lost.... If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised....”
Terminal illness is not unique in that we will all die. But eternal life is unique. It is found only in Christ—the good news is that He is willing and able to give it to anyone who seeks it in Him.
The American Medical Association reports a study concerning terminally ill patients. According to this study, a majority of people from certain ethnic groups would rather their doctor did not tell them they were dying. They felt this information should go to the family instead. In contrast, people from other ethnic groups were more likely to want to hear it for themselves.
Death is never an easy matter to discuss, much less stare in the face; however, terminally ill people may have good reasons for wanting to be told. Perhaps they want time to get their personal affairs in order or say goodbye to loved ones. Some may dislike playing games with reality. If death looms on the horizon, why hide the fact or pretend it never will happen? Those who would rather not be told may believe their family can make better decisions for them.
The report did not mention belief systems of these various groups, just that African-Americans and European-Americans had the least amount of trouble being told of imminent death. These two groups have lived longer with the American philosophy that stresses personal individuality so may feel they can handle the news “by myself.”
On the other hand, these two groups also have had a longer relationship with Christian beliefs. Their desire to know could be influenced by those beliefs. Death, while still a mystery in some ways, is not a huge threat to Christians who personally know the One who conquered it.
People of all religions speculate what will happen the moment someone dies. Some say nothing — the body goes into the ground and that is the end of everything. This is Nihilism and offers no hope.
Others say death is the entrance into another life, one in which the person who died is reincarnated into another life form. Many eastern religions and some segments of New Age teach reincarnation.
The Bible gives quite another version. It reports that Christ rose from the dead and declares that death is not the end but a transition. It also affirms that “it is appointed unto man once to die...” not several times. Reincarnation, according to the Bible, is a false hope.
Scripture offers hope in the Incarnation — the event of God entering our world, pulling on humanity and offering Himself to us as Savior from sin, and Lord of our lives. He proved death is not the end by bringing others to life and by rising from the dead Himself.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes this: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...”
He then describes what happens to us when we die: “The body that is sown (dead) is perishable, it is raised imperishable... it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power... Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep(die), but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed... then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’”
The Scripture also reasons this way: “If Christ has not been raised, then the dead are not raised, our faith is futile and we are still in our sins... those who have died are lost.... If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised....”
Terminal illness is not unique in that we will all die. But eternal life is unique. It is found only in Christ—the good news is that He is willing and able to give it to anyone who seeks it in Him.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Going Home ................. Parables 236
(September 26, 1990)
“Don’t miss the 60th Anniversary reunion...” the folder said. A decade ago, while we were living in the United States, my hometown hosted a reunion celebrating 50 years; we wouldn’t miss the celebration this time. Other people may reach back to their roots now and then but I had not been “home” for 30 years.
Some of the thoughts that ran through my head included a hope that everyone would be wearing name tags. What if no one knew me? Or worse yet, what if I didn’t know anyone... not even my closest school chums?
As I poked through my closet wondering what to wear, I wondered who would attend and what happened to those old friends. In contrast to my own children, I went to school in one place so some of those people had been my friends all twelve of those growing-up years. With so many relocations since then, I’ve lost touch. Getting together again held promise of joy to be sure, but maybe some surprises.
Well, the reunion is past. It was a weekend last July and marvelous in every way. We did have name tags but, for the most part, didn’t need them. We shared school yearbooks and photos of our children, exchanged addresses and remembered the good and bad times with laughter and even a few tears. It was a wonderful celebration and, as far as I was concerned, it could have lasted much longer.
As tremendous as this not-soon-to-be-forgotten event was, it really is only a shadow of another celebration that I also have been invited to attend. It won’t be an anniversary but it will be a reunion... and no one will need name tags. There, we will “know, even as we are known.”
The date is immediately after I leave this life; exact time, of course unknown. The place is heaven, and it is a definite location: Jesus said, “I go to prepare you a place for you... The occasion is the receiving of an inheritance — eternal life with Christ. What a celebration it will be.
In that day, all of God’s people will be together — everyone including the summer Bible school worker who first shared the gospel with me, and the believing pastors of every church. There will be mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, grandparents, old-timers such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and certainly lots of children, for Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me... for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
We will come from a variety of eras and backgrounds; some will be farmers, some doctors and lawyers. There will be both women and men, rich and poor, baggers and kings, the brainy and the brawny, people from every nation and language.
What to wear is also a decision, but it can, and even must, be made before arrival. You see, there is a dress code; no one can get in without a white robe of righteousness. That will be a problem to those who have refused to believe in Jesus Christ and haven’t surrendered their lives to Him.
The best part of this heavenly reunion is that there are no more second partings, no more good-byes. We won’t have to go back to our jobs and our own homes, separated by miles and miles. We won’t have to wonder any more about the whereabouts of those we love are or what they are doing. We will be able to fellowship with other believers endlessly as we worship our Savior together. In that place, and for that reunion, friends really are friends forever and the greatest celebration of all will never end.
The invitation is still open. Jesus gave it when He died on the cross. He says, “Come unto me... and I will give you life...” and whoever comes, believing and obeying, will also be part of that promised everlasting reunion.
“Don’t miss the 60th Anniversary reunion...” the folder said. A decade ago, while we were living in the United States, my hometown hosted a reunion celebrating 50 years; we wouldn’t miss the celebration this time. Other people may reach back to their roots now and then but I had not been “home” for 30 years.
Some of the thoughts that ran through my head included a hope that everyone would be wearing name tags. What if no one knew me? Or worse yet, what if I didn’t know anyone... not even my closest school chums?
As I poked through my closet wondering what to wear, I wondered who would attend and what happened to those old friends. In contrast to my own children, I went to school in one place so some of those people had been my friends all twelve of those growing-up years. With so many relocations since then, I’ve lost touch. Getting together again held promise of joy to be sure, but maybe some surprises.
Well, the reunion is past. It was a weekend last July and marvelous in every way. We did have name tags but, for the most part, didn’t need them. We shared school yearbooks and photos of our children, exchanged addresses and remembered the good and bad times with laughter and even a few tears. It was a wonderful celebration and, as far as I was concerned, it could have lasted much longer.
As tremendous as this not-soon-to-be-forgotten event was, it really is only a shadow of another celebration that I also have been invited to attend. It won’t be an anniversary but it will be a reunion... and no one will need name tags. There, we will “know, even as we are known.”
The date is immediately after I leave this life; exact time, of course unknown. The place is heaven, and it is a definite location: Jesus said, “I go to prepare you a place for you... The occasion is the receiving of an inheritance — eternal life with Christ. What a celebration it will be.
In that day, all of God’s people will be together — everyone including the summer Bible school worker who first shared the gospel with me, and the believing pastors of every church. There will be mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, grandparents, old-timers such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and certainly lots of children, for Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me... for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
We will come from a variety of eras and backgrounds; some will be farmers, some doctors and lawyers. There will be both women and men, rich and poor, baggers and kings, the brainy and the brawny, people from every nation and language.
What to wear is also a decision, but it can, and even must, be made before arrival. You see, there is a dress code; no one can get in without a white robe of righteousness. That will be a problem to those who have refused to believe in Jesus Christ and haven’t surrendered their lives to Him.
The best part of this heavenly reunion is that there are no more second partings, no more good-byes. We won’t have to go back to our jobs and our own homes, separated by miles and miles. We won’t have to wonder any more about the whereabouts of those we love are or what they are doing. We will be able to fellowship with other believers endlessly as we worship our Savior together. In that place, and for that reunion, friends really are friends forever and the greatest celebration of all will never end.
The invitation is still open. Jesus gave it when He died on the cross. He says, “Come unto me... and I will give you life...” and whoever comes, believing and obeying, will also be part of that promised everlasting reunion.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Fatalism ................................. Parables 050
This morning there was a letter to the editor of an Edmonton daily paper that expressed the opinion that the current no smoking campaign was just a passing fad, and that all of us are “terminal” anyway. The attitude was fatalistic: “why fight anything that will kill you — death is unavoidable, so don’t bother to do anything about it.”
My first response was a rather caustic “He probably smokes two packs a day and doesn’t want anyone telling him to stop.”
Then I wondered if he really had thought through his argument. If it was applied to all aspects of living, then scientists should not look for cures for disease, we should allow our children to play in traffic, wars are not important to avoid, and don’t bother with warm clothing or heating our homes and cars. After all, we are all going to die sometime. It compares to tossing your pay cheque to the wind with an “oh well, it will all be gone by the end of the month anyway!”
A fatalist does have a certain sense of reality. It is true, every life is terminal. God says “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) Hebrews 2:14-15 says that the fear of death brings people into bondage and certainly fear of death could motivate an anti-smoking campaign.
Neither have the complete answer. The frantic efforts of people under pressure against a fear of dying, or a fatalistic resignation to its inevitability do nothing to help us understand it, or prepare for it.
Whatever we may think about death, God says that it was the power possessed by the enemy, the devil. (Also in Hebrews 2)
The good news is that little word “was.” The power of death is no longer in enemy hands. It has been broken by One who submitted to it, then conquered it. When Jesus rose from the dead He conquered the ultimate weapon of Satan. Jesus offers the same conquering power to those who believe in Him.
No one need fear death. Neither do any of us need to resign ourselves to its inevitability. The Word of God was written so we “can be certain that we have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13) That does not give us license to throw away this life, but we can enjoy it, deeply enjoy it, if we know that is not all there is.
My first response was a rather caustic “He probably smokes two packs a day and doesn’t want anyone telling him to stop.”
Then I wondered if he really had thought through his argument. If it was applied to all aspects of living, then scientists should not look for cures for disease, we should allow our children to play in traffic, wars are not important to avoid, and don’t bother with warm clothing or heating our homes and cars. After all, we are all going to die sometime. It compares to tossing your pay cheque to the wind with an “oh well, it will all be gone by the end of the month anyway!”
A fatalist does have a certain sense of reality. It is true, every life is terminal. God says “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) Hebrews 2:14-15 says that the fear of death brings people into bondage and certainly fear of death could motivate an anti-smoking campaign.
Neither have the complete answer. The frantic efforts of people under pressure against a fear of dying, or a fatalistic resignation to its inevitability do nothing to help us understand it, or prepare for it.
Whatever we may think about death, God says that it was the power possessed by the enemy, the devil. (Also in Hebrews 2)
The good news is that little word “was.” The power of death is no longer in enemy hands. It has been broken by One who submitted to it, then conquered it. When Jesus rose from the dead He conquered the ultimate weapon of Satan. Jesus offers the same conquering power to those who believe in Him.
No one need fear death. Neither do any of us need to resign ourselves to its inevitability. The Word of God was written so we “can be certain that we have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13) That does not give us license to throw away this life, but we can enjoy it, deeply enjoy it, if we know that is not all there is.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Dramatization of a Promise.............................. Parables 014
We who live in climates of clearly defined seasons have the marvelous annual opportunity to witness a dramatic visual display that symbolizes the most important event in history, life coming out of death.
It happened one spring nearly 2000 years ago, halfway around the world. The person whose life had ended was considered to be a troublemaker by some, a threat to the political and religious establishment, with much too much influence on the common man. Those in authority wanted him dead. They couldn’t find any crime to convict him of however, so when his illegal trial was held, he was convicted for telling the truth about himself.
His death sentence was carried out by the government of the day. Their means of execution was uniquely horrible and cruel, incurring death by slow suffocation while suspended from a cross made of wood . . . a slow death, so slow that the impatient soldiers in charge would often break the legs of the prisoners, sudden shock bringing an end to the process, so they could go home. But they didn’t need to break the legs of this one. He was already dead when they came to him. Evidence reveals that his death was not by suffocation nor by shock, but that his heart literally ruptured and his blood was poured out.
His family and friends had been told that he would rise again, but just like you and me, or anyone who knows about life and death, they did not believe that or seem to understand. They felt no hope. They mourned. But they didn’t have to.
This Jesus Christ, whom they had given up everything to follow, was no ordinary man. Just as His life was not an ordinary life, His death was not an ordinary death. God pronounced that death comes to all who sin, but in His life, this man had never sinned. Therefore, death had no claim on Him. He died for someone else. Furthermore, in His life, He claimed to be the Son of God, and three days after His death, He proved it. He walked out of His tomb.
What does this have to do with us and with spring? Just This: Jesus Christ said, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25,26).
Just as the cold dark of winter cannot destroy plant and animal life, neither can the grave destroy those who put their trust in the One who conquered death. His own resurrection guarantees it.
And just to make sure that we have ample reminders of this event, and of His promise, He repeats it over and over again: in His Word, in the changed lives of those who believe, and in the marvelous season that we call Spring.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Death ......................... Parables 011
“Seems as if a lot of people are dying these days . . .” — the statement of a 14-year-old, his mind somewhat numbed by pictures of the wreckage strewn over the Atlantic and then over the wooded hills near Hinton. He was wondering why.
We wonder too, briefly and then we go about life as usual. There is something in each one of us that blocks thoughts of death. We can imagine ourselves in pain, suffering, or maybe with the loss of some limbs, but since we don’t want to think about that, we usually don’t let our minds wander to even that subject. When the news seems to be filled with tragic death, few people think, “That could have been me.” Few . . . and not for long.
Death, especially sudden death, is unimaginable, undesirable, and hardly the favorite dinner-party topic of conversation. We’ll discuss all kinds of other horrible certainties, uncertainties, and other unpleasant things, but that one is so final, so mysterious, and all too inescapable. After all, every society has a death rate of 100%.
The book of Ecclesiastes says that “no man has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, neither hath he power in the day of death.” (8:8) Certainly that is why it is so disdained in conversation, so rejected from our thought life. We cannot control death. Nor can we stop it, or change it. And for some, both on the train and in the shuttle, there isn’t even a moment to anticipate it. One minute there is life, the next . . .
God says something about death that startles me upon first reading. “Blessed are the dead which dieth in the Lord . . . ” (Revelation 14:13). The Bible affirms that anyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation is in Christ, and that anyone who believes in the Son of God has Christ in Him, and because of that, has eternal life already. This eternal life does not begin after this life is over. It begins the moment a person truly believes.
“This then is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life, and he who has not the Son of God has not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:11-13).
Maybe there is someone who reads this column that is thinking about death. Thoughts that used to be easily pushed aside somehow no longer stay away. And there is no assurance, only fear, fear of what comes after that, fear of the event itself. Hebrews 2 gives good news: Jesus Christ became a man so that, by the grace of God, he could taste death for every man. Through His death, He destroyed him that had the power of death, and delivers them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Yes, a lot of people are dying these days. Some suddenly, some tragically, some slowly, some painfully, yet some who die physically never really die. In Christ, they are ready to meet that enemy without fear, because He, the One who conquered death, did it so that those who believe merely change their place of residence.
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