Death: God's perspective - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 21:16-19,

"You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and
friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you
because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing
firm you will gain life."

This is a part of the prophetic perspective Jesus gave when he was
asked about when and what signs would precede the destruction of the
temple. He provided prophetic insight into both the destruction of the
temple and his second coming, "the Son of Man coming in a cloud with
power and great glory", verse 27.

One might be struck by the seeming contradiction of both "put some of
you to death" and "not a hair of your head will perish. By standing
firm you will gain life." It occurs to me that our lives here "under
the sun" (Ecclesiastes) are temporary and transitional. Since the
garden of Eden we all have a "shelf-life" and our stay here is
temporary. What is not temporary is what comes following our death
from this life. The next is eternal and Scripture refers to our
existence in eternity as either eternal life or eternal death. I
understand the above passage in this context. We face death, but
eternal life awaits those whose salvation is manifested in their
persistence in Jesus Christ.

Eternal death is described in Revelation 20:14-15, "The lake of fire
is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the
book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." However, we have
the offer of eternal life in the gospel. Jesus said, "I tell you the
truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal
life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to
life." John 5:24.

We will all perish from this life as result of God's condemnation of
sin. It is our punishment for our own sinfulness and rebellion against
God. None escape this, we all face physical death. However, one of
only two possibilities await us on the other side: eternal life or
eternal death. It is life in eternity that this life, "life under the
sun" is all about. Where we find ourselves in the next life is
entirely dependent upon our choice to embrace Jesus Christ in faith or
reject him.

Although we all deserve God's judgment for our sin (I know I do), how
wonderful he has made a way for us! As Jesus also said, "I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me." How can this not be something to get excited about?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com