We almost universally live as though we are not going to die. It’s true. Most of us totally ignore the fact our death is 100% guaranteed. We even hate to talk about dying and death. When times come which we are forced to discuss the topic of death (usually at a funeral), we prefer not to say “so and so died”, instead choosing to say “they passed away.” Have you ever given real thought about why the topic of death feels so uncomfortable?
Most people will answer that question, regardless if they believe in God, by saying death is depressing and sad. I agree, but why is it depressing and sad? Whether acknowledging or not, we all believe that death is not really the way life is supposed to be. There is something deep down in our core that really understands this, and even longs for death to be stopped. For me, I believe the ultimate reason we go through our lives ignoring our inevitable death is simple: because we are meant to live without death, and we know it.
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecc 3:11). This is why we go through our lives living like we will live forever, because God placed that desire within us. We want to live life eternally, in peace. But is that really possible? Is this desire for eternal life just a byproduct of natural selection and evolutionary biology, or a fairy tale of myth and religion, or is it really the true nature of our lives?
“He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:6, NIV). The historical account of the gospel of Jesus Christ brings fruition that internal desire we have for life eternal. That feeling in your heart for eternal life is true and real only for the fact Easter is true and real. Eternal life in peace is possible and Jesus is The Way to fulfill it. He sacrificed His life for all people because of God’s unimaginable love for each of us. Does that seem too good to be true? Yes, it is amazing! There is a way to live in peace forever, that even death can not stop, and it’s only because of Jesus Christ.
“Death is hell and night and cold, if it is not transformed by our faith. But that is just what is so marvelous, that we can transform death.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”, John 11:25-26 (NIV).
