O Death
It's not supposed to be like this. It's just not. Every fiber of my being tells me this and I think yours does, too. This week, I lost my sweet friend and closest comrade in arms in our joint fight against cancer. My mother-in-law's dear friend was told her brain cancer has progressed. And another friend of mine lost her brother to cancer, a shell of himself, just like my dad was. I was too young to have seen images of AIDS patients in the '80s, but that is what my dad looked like at the end. That, or a victim of the Holocaust.
And it just makes me angry. This is not what we were made for. This is not how it's supposed to end, with bodies wasted away, mouths unable to communicate, minds that have lost cognition. Many people see things like this and direct their anger at God. But it's not God that causes these things. Jesus told us, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance" (John 10:10).
The perpetrator of these things is the Enemy. He lured the first man into sin and destruction, and we all suffer the effects of lost Eden. But Eden is what we were created for - life abundant, beautiful, lush, plentiful, vibrant, satisfying, never-ending. For now we live in a world marred by evil. And it is right to be angry at this.
In various ways, we all try to cheat death. We try beauty tricks to make ourselves look younger, to defy aging. We try to keep up with ever-changing health guidelines in an attempt to prevent disease and keep our bodies strong and full of life. We take "mental health days" and practice self-care. But not once has anyone ever actually cheated death.
Have you ever noticed that every single fairy tale ends with, "And they all lived happily every after," and never once does it mention that the prince and princess still die at the end? We intuitively know that we are supposed to live forever. Happily. And we will. But first we have to walk through this valley of the shadow of death. We have to taste physical death. We have to live in a broken, sad world that isn't as it should be.
But God promises that death will be destroyed. It is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26), but it will be destroyed. And one day we will be able to say with full conviction, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is your victory?" (1 Cor. 15:55). For now we know in part and say those words with hope, but one day we will truly dance on the grave of death itself. Jesus has defeated it and its fall is certain.
But it still hurts to be the one whom Death has visited so closely.
And it just makes me angry. This is not what we were made for. This is not how it's supposed to end, with bodies wasted away, mouths unable to communicate, minds that have lost cognition. Many people see things like this and direct their anger at God. But it's not God that causes these things. Jesus told us, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance" (John 10:10).
The perpetrator of these things is the Enemy. He lured the first man into sin and destruction, and we all suffer the effects of lost Eden. But Eden is what we were created for - life abundant, beautiful, lush, plentiful, vibrant, satisfying, never-ending. For now we live in a world marred by evil. And it is right to be angry at this.
In various ways, we all try to cheat death. We try beauty tricks to make ourselves look younger, to defy aging. We try to keep up with ever-changing health guidelines in an attempt to prevent disease and keep our bodies strong and full of life. We take "mental health days" and practice self-care. But not once has anyone ever actually cheated death.
Have you ever noticed that every single fairy tale ends with, "And they all lived happily every after," and never once does it mention that the prince and princess still die at the end? We intuitively know that we are supposed to live forever. Happily. And we will. But first we have to walk through this valley of the shadow of death. We have to taste physical death. We have to live in a broken, sad world that isn't as it should be.
But God promises that death will be destroyed. It is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26), but it will be destroyed. And one day we will be able to say with full conviction, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is your victory?" (1 Cor. 15:55). For now we know in part and say those words with hope, but one day we will truly dance on the grave of death itself. Jesus has defeated it and its fall is certain.
But it still hurts to be the one whom Death has visited so closely.
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