POST 2 - Death Comes to All

by William W. Orr, A.B., M.A., Th.B., D.D.. Pastor and Teacher.

     Here is a subject of universal interest.  Many people do not want to thing about death, but eventfully everyone must.  Consider that, out of earth's billions of people over the centuries, only two persons have escaped the experience of death -- Enoch (Gen. 5:24;  Heb. 11:5) and  Elijah (II Kings 2:11).  Also, God warns that it is appointed unto men once to die (Heb. 9:27).  These facts impress on us the importance of this subject for each individual.

     Strangely, though, multitudes of people deliberately avoid any thought of death.  Some refuse to discuss it, calling it morbid.  Others regard it as a subject only for funeral sermons or attorneys' offices.  But everyone knows that someday he must die.

     Nor is, this subject strictly for the contemplation of the aged.  One has only to scan the obituary lists or to take an old-fashioned stroll through a cemetery to be convinced that death is no respecter of age or position in life.  While medical science has made great progress in the prevention and cure of disease, sickness and accidents continue to take their daily toll of human life.  No one escapes.

     Actually, there is noting wrong or unwholesome about facing the fact of death.  A truly wise person will admit it's inevitability and will prepare realistically for it.   When we consider that at best human life is but a brief span on the average of threescore years and ten (70), that  not all even reach that age, and that eternity is endless, is it not a mark of true intelligence to look into the matter and learn what is ahead?

     But you ask, "Can we really know?"  The answer unequivocally is, "Of course we can."  For our reliable information we turn to a trusted Book.  This Book is the final authority of all truth in life.  It speaks without ambiguity.  The Bible clearly reveals the mysteries surrounding the life to come so that we need not be ignorant about the transition from life to death.

     Why then the universal fear of death?  The full answer to this question involves the whole plan of God's creation and redemption.  Simply stated, men are afraid of death because they do not know God.  But for a child of God the glorious truth is that the fear of death may be removed.  With the knowledge of what God's Word says, the fear of death disappears, making way for trust and confidence.

     More than that, the fear of death gives way to a happy anticipation of the life beyond which one day will blossom into a glorious realization for a Christian.

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