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How To Deal With
Death
By Dwan Rager
"100 per cent of us die, and the percentage cannot be
increased." C.S. Lewis
Death is a difficult subject to talk about. It's even
more difficult to face, especially if you have no idea
what is waiting "on the other side". It's a common
belief that all good people go to heaven, while really
bad people go to hell or some other not-so-nice place
that's maybe not as terrible as hell. But if there's no
certainty, the prospective can be quite terrifying.
In addition to an unknown destination after death,
there's plenty of other things that make death hard to
deal with. Death means separation; separation from loved
ones, from things one enjoys and well...everything.
It also means suffering. Most people leave this life
through pain and suffering. It is not often one just
closes their eyes, breathes their last breath and is
gone without experiencing some type of suffering. Even
if one dies quickly in an accident, there can be
terrifying moments just prior to that which make their
dying experience anything but pleasant.
Several years ago, my first husband was diagnosed with a
quickly metastasizing brain tumor and given only a few
months to live. When I asked him if he was afraid to die
he said, "No, I'm not afraid to die but I'm very afraid
of the process." That made sense to me. He anticipated,
with great joy, what awaited him on the other side of
death but knew the road he must take to get there would
be filled with great pain and suffering - and it was.
Separation, suffering and the great unknown of death
make it understandable why people fear it so. Yet, God's
Word tells us death is something we need not fear, not
if we "live" right. How we live makes all the difference
in how we die.
"If you live wrong, you can't die right." Billy Sunday
If one chooses to live this life, for and by one's self,
without God, then by their own choice, when their life
ends, the only source of power and strength they will
have to draw upon is their own. Sadly, they will quickly
discover their personal reservoir has nothing to offer
them and worse, they have no ability on their own to get
to heaven.
Jesus is the only way to heaven.
John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father (God who is in Heaven) but through
Me."
Once we know Jesus and have a relationship with God the
Father through Him, we need not fear death any longer.
I Corinthians 15:55 "O death, where is your victory? O
death, where is your sting?"
In other words, death no longer has the last say. For
all Believers in Christ, death is not final. It is just
a doorway to our real home, our ultimate destination,
the place we were created for. In our eternal home, all
suffering, sadness, pain and disease will end. We will
experience joy and delight like we have never known.
Death, then, can actually become something we anticipate
rather than fear because of where it will take us.
Even the process of dying loses its terrifying grip when
one walks that journey with God, rather than on their
own.
Living Life Set Free is a ten day, amazing journey with
God using the books Living Life Set Free and Reflections
designed to invite the power of God the Father, God the
Son and God the Holy Spirit to radically transform you,
change your life and set you free. http://livinglifesetfree.com
How to deal with death. http://livinglifesetfree.com/blog/2011/04/27/how-to-deal-with-death-and-loss/ |
