What Is Death Like

In his book “A Man Called Peter” Peter Marshall tells the story of a little boy he knew who was suffering from a terminal illness. At first, he didn’t understand what was happening to him, but as the months passed, and he had to stay inside while his friends went outside to play, the truth dawned on him. The idea intrigued him, and he wondered what death would be like. "One day, as his mother was reading to him, when she was finished he was silent for a moment, and then he asked the question that had been playing on his mind, the question that his mother had been dreading to answer. “Mother, what is it like to die? Mother does it hurt?” She quickly excused herself and left the room to compose herself. She then turned to the Lord and prayed for an answer, and the Lord gave her an answer, and she knew what she would say.

“Kenneth,”she said as she returned to the next room, “Do you remember when you were a little boy and you would play hard all day? When the evening came you would be so tired that when you came in, you would lie down on Mommy and Daddy’s bed and fall asleep.”

“That was not your bed. That was not where you belonged.”

“But you only stayed there a little while. In the morning, you were surprised to wake up and find yourself in your own bed.”

“You were there because someone you loved had come and taken care of you. During the night while you were sleeping, your father came—with big strong arms—and carried you to your own room.”

“Sweetheart, death is just like that. One night you are very tired and very sleepy. We fall asleep and the next morning we wake up to find ourselves in another room—our own room where we belong—because the Lord Jesus has come and with his big arms, he has carried us from our home in this world to our home in heaven.”

The light on the little boy’s face showed that he had understood. And a few days later he fell asleep just as his mother had said. That is what death is like for the believer. In his book “A Man Called Peter” Peter Marshall tells the story of a little boy he knew who was suffering from a terminal illness. At first, he didn’t understand what was happening to him, but as the months passed, and he had to stay inside while his friends went outside to play, the truth dawned on him. The idea intrigued him, and he wondered what death would be like. "One day, as his mother was reading to him, when she was finished he was silent for a moment, and then he asked the question that had been playing on his mind, the question that his mother had been dreading to answer. “Mother, what is it like to die? Mother does it hurt?” She quickly excused herself and left the room to compose herself. She then turned to the Lord and prayed for an answer, and the Lord gave her an answer, and she knew what she would say.

“Kenneth,”she said as she returned to the next room, “Do you remember when you were a little boy and you would play hard all day? When the evening came you would be so tired that when you came in, you would lie down on Mommy and Daddy’s bed and fall asleep.”

“That was not your bed. That was not where you belonged.”

“But you only stayed there a little while. In the morning, you were surprised to wake up and find yourself in your own bed.”

“You were there because someone you loved had come and taken care of you. During the night while you were sleeping, your father came—with big strong arms—and carried you to your own room.”

“Sweetheart, death is just like that. One night you are very tired and very sleepy. We fall asleep and the next morning we wake up to find ourselves in another room—our own room where we belong—because the Lord Jesus has come and with his big arms, he has carried us from our home in this world to our home in heaven.”

The light on the little boy’s face showed that he had understood. And a few days later he fell asleep just as his mother had said. That is what death is like for the believer. In his book “A Man Called Peter” Peter Marshall tells the story of a little boy he knew who was suffering from a terminal illness. At first, he didn’t understand what was happening to him, but as the months passed, and he had to stay inside while his friends went outside to play, the truth dawned on him. The idea intrigued him, and he wondered what death would be like. "One day, as his mother was reading to him, when she was finished he was silent for a moment, and then he asked the question that had been playing on his mind, the question that his mother had been dreading to answer. “Mother, what is it like to die? Mother does it hurt?” She quickly excused herself and left the room to compose herself. She then turned to the Lord and prayed for an answer, and the Lord gave her an answer, and she knew what she would say. “Kenneth,”she said as she returned to the next room, “Do you remember when you were a little boy and you would play hard all day? When the evening came you would be so tired that when you came in, you would lie down on Mommy and Daddy’s bed and fall asleep.”

“That was not your bed. That was not where you belonged.”

“But you only stayed there a little while. In the morning, you were surprised to wake up and find yourself in your own bed.”

“You were there because someone you loved had come and taken care of you. During the night while you were sleeping, your father came—with big strong arms—and carried you to your own room.”

“Sweetheart, death is just like that. One night you are very tired and very sleepy. We fall asleep and the next morning we wake up to find ourselves in another room—our own room where we belong—because the Lord Jesus has come and with his big arms, he has carried us from our home in this world to our home in heaven.”

The light on the little boy’s face showed that he had understood. And a few days later he fell asleep just as his mother had said. That is what death is like for the believer. Peter Marshall. "A Man Called Peter" - "Go Down Death" pp. 262-274