I recently wrote on Fears...we all have them. Perhaps none is more difficult for us to resolve than the fears that come when we think about death.
This is what I know with certainty - 100% of us will die. We know that this life is not going to last. While we might wish/hope for a life that is lived lucidly and physically well through our 80's, maybe even into our 90's, we don't know how long it will really be, nor do we know how it will someday end.
How then should we think about this subject - one that frankly we'd love to pretend does not exist?
Let's begin with this question: Do we really believe that this life is so good, and death so bad?
The Apostle Paul makes a statement about life, and from it, a statement about death:
2 Corinthians 5:1-6
1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.
3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.
4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.
5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.
The language is crucial for us who believe in both life here on earth and eternal life that is to come. This life in our body is an "earthly tent". I have camped, and tents serve their purpose, but I have no desire to live out life in a tent! This tent of our body is not meant to last, but what awaits us is an eternal body made for us by God himself. He goes on: Our bodies are old clothes waiting for new clothing. Our bodies are physical, limited, and in these bodies we groan, sigh, and eventually this body of ours will die. Yet that means that one day our life will be heavenly, swallowed up by LIFE.
Does it mean we hate this life? NO... because the life we live now is a GIFT from God, it is meant to prepare us for this Eternal Life that is to come.
Look at these quotes from John Calvin as he reflected upon the life of the believer, both here and in the future.
First he reflects on the way in which we should look at our present life on earth:
"Were there no proofs in Scripture (they are most numerous and clear), yet nature herself exhorts us to return thanks to God for having brought us forth into light, granted us the use of it, and bestowed upon us all the means necessary for its preservation. And there is a much higher reason when we reflect that here we are in a manner prepared for the glory of the heavenly kingdom... When once we have concluded that our earthly life is a gift of the divine mercy, of which, agreeably to our obligation, it behooves us to have a grateful remembrance..."
In contrast, he reflects on the way in which we look at the end of our earthly life and the life to come after our death:
"Let believers, then, in forming an estimate of this mortal life, and perceiving that in itself it is nothing but misery, make it their aim to exert themselves with greater alacrity (ie. readiness, or exhuberance) , and less hindrance, in aspiring to the future and eternal life. When we contrast the two, the former may not only be securely neglected, but, in comparison of the latter, be disdained and condemned.
If heaven is our country, what can the earth be but a place of exile?
If departure from the world is entrance into life, what is the world but a sepulchre, and what is residence in it but immersion in death?
If to be freed from the body is to gain full possession of freedom, what is the body but a prison?
If it is the very summit of happiness to enjoy the presence of God, is it not miserable to want it?
But “whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord,” (2 Cor. 5:6).
Thus when the earthly is compared with the heavenly life, it may undoubtedly be despised and trampled under foot."
I LOVE what Calvin says in summary of how our lives look like as they end in death:
"For it is as if the Lord had assigned us a post, which we must maintain till he recalls us."
We do not despise life here on earth - it is God's gift to us. Paul said it like this to the Philippians:
Philippians 1:20-24
20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.
21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.
23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
But this is what I know, our life ends as God - who has assigned us a post - recalls us to himself, to LIFE, to heavenly glory, and to his throne!
Peace
This is what I know with certainty - 100% of us will die. We know that this life is not going to last. While we might wish/hope for a life that is lived lucidly and physically well through our 80's, maybe even into our 90's, we don't know how long it will really be, nor do we know how it will someday end.
How then should we think about this subject - one that frankly we'd love to pretend does not exist?
Let's begin with this question: Do we really believe that this life is so good, and death so bad?
The Apostle Paul makes a statement about life, and from it, a statement about death:
2 Corinthians 5:1-6
1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.
3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.
4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.
5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.
The language is crucial for us who believe in both life here on earth and eternal life that is to come. This life in our body is an "earthly tent". I have camped, and tents serve their purpose, but I have no desire to live out life in a tent! This tent of our body is not meant to last, but what awaits us is an eternal body made for us by God himself. He goes on: Our bodies are old clothes waiting for new clothing. Our bodies are physical, limited, and in these bodies we groan, sigh, and eventually this body of ours will die. Yet that means that one day our life will be heavenly, swallowed up by LIFE.
Does it mean we hate this life? NO... because the life we live now is a GIFT from God, it is meant to prepare us for this Eternal Life that is to come.
Look at these quotes from John Calvin as he reflected upon the life of the believer, both here and in the future.
First he reflects on the way in which we should look at our present life on earth:
"Were there no proofs in Scripture (they are most numerous and clear), yet nature herself exhorts us to return thanks to God for having brought us forth into light, granted us the use of it, and bestowed upon us all the means necessary for its preservation. And there is a much higher reason when we reflect that here we are in a manner prepared for the glory of the heavenly kingdom... When once we have concluded that our earthly life is a gift of the divine mercy, of which, agreeably to our obligation, it behooves us to have a grateful remembrance..."
In contrast, he reflects on the way in which we look at the end of our earthly life and the life to come after our death:
"Let believers, then, in forming an estimate of this mortal life, and perceiving that in itself it is nothing but misery, make it their aim to exert themselves with greater alacrity (ie. readiness, or exhuberance) , and less hindrance, in aspiring to the future and eternal life. When we contrast the two, the former may not only be securely neglected, but, in comparison of the latter, be disdained and condemned.
If heaven is our country, what can the earth be but a place of exile?
If departure from the world is entrance into life, what is the world but a sepulchre, and what is residence in it but immersion in death?
If to be freed from the body is to gain full possession of freedom, what is the body but a prison?
If it is the very summit of happiness to enjoy the presence of God, is it not miserable to want it?
But “whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord,” (2 Cor. 5:6).
Thus when the earthly is compared with the heavenly life, it may undoubtedly be despised and trampled under foot."
I LOVE what Calvin says in summary of how our lives look like as they end in death:
"For it is as if the Lord had assigned us a post, which we must maintain till he recalls us."
We do not despise life here on earth - it is God's gift to us. Paul said it like this to the Philippians:
Philippians 1:20-24
20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.
21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.
23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
But this is what I know, our life ends as God - who has assigned us a post - recalls us to himself, to LIFE, to heavenly glory, and to his throne!
Peace
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