Today death struck close to home for our church and especially for the family of our beloved brother in the Lord. This afternoon God called our brother home to be forever in His presence. At this very moment I am confident that my friend is experiencing the joy of the Lord in way we could never imagine. Today he is feeling no more pain, no more suffering and I am sure he is rejoicing in every moment. Thus is the future of every believer in Christ.
Some years ago I read a book called Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, by Christopher Hall. One section of the book has always stuck out to me because it had valuable lessons to teach those who suffer the death of a loved one. Below is the portion were Hall explains why John Chrysostom considers death a benefit to those who remain behind
Those who continue to live in this world after the death of a loved one have received a powerful lesson on the transitoriness of life and the danger of thinking and acting as though life will never end. One is “humbled, learns to act in a more level-headed fashion, is taught to think in a more spiritual manner, and introduces into his mind the mother of all goods, humility.”…Thus death actually becomes “a teacher of the spiritual life, instructing the understanding, bridling the passions of the soul, quelling its billows and creating calm.”
The lessons I am reminded of are these.
1. “The transitoriness of life”
Life on this earth is not permanent- this is not our home. God has something so much more for His children when this life is over. We can take comfort in the promise of a perfect world to come. It will be a world that is not infected or tainted by the destructive power of sin.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4
2. “The danger of thinking and acting as though life will never end.”
Life is brief and can be taken at any moment. One day we will stand before God and give an account of how we lived on this earth. Therefore, we must live in such a way that we will be prepared to stand before our creator and be found clothed with His forgiveness and righteousness.
Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. Matt 25:13
Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. Matt 25:13
3. “…think in a more spiritual manner”
Since life and all that we do is temporal on this earth, we should put more effort into what is eternal. Our efforts should be invested in the things of God, that which will help build His kingdom. When it is all said and done, the only things that will matter is what we have done for Christ.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:19-21
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