“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for
‘All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.’
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” [1]
“The grass withers, and the flower falls…” Wow! Talk about a downer! Don’t we come to church to hear inspiring sermons? Isn’t the preacher supposed to make us feel good about ourselves? Talk about a dark message! From the viewpoint of this dying world, Peter confronts readers with a stunning reminder of the impermanence of everything associated with this life. Most of our contemporaries find such realistic talk disturbing and shove such considerations far from their thoughts. And yet, the words of the old hymn stand true: “Death is coming, hell is moving.” [2]
During the days of my childhood, my dad would often say, “There is nothing sure but death and taxes.” I suppose he was correct, at least concerning the matter of death (though taxes do seem rather constant). The song writer has expressed what we all know to be true when he wrote the words to an old hymn:
“Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me!” [3]
Whether we allow ourselves to think of the reality of this transient existence or whether we attempt to shove the thought far from our conscious mind, we are each moving inexorably toward this final date with death.
It is truly a downer to come to the service of worship of the Risen Lord of Glory and hear a sermon about death. We don’t worship death; rather, we worship the Saviour Who conquered death. Jesus our Lord took the sting of death, forever removing the fear of death for those who walk with Him. And yet, death comes to all whether we talk about death or try to ignore it. The minister of God who will faithfully serve the welfare of the people to whom he ministers will speak of death, preparing those over whom he is appointed as an elder by speaking of that which is inevitable in this fallen world.
Long years past I arrived at the understanding that the work of the preacher consists of preparing men to die by equipping them to live. Everything within us as mortals occupying this terrestrial sphere attempts to shove far from our consciousness every thought of death. Multiple sources assist in this futile attempt to shield us from the inevitable—friends will shush us and minimise our concerns that are raised in the course of our conversation; newscasts blur the images of dead people and preface any story telling of death by warning viewers, “This report shows graphic images that may be disturbing to some viewers.” The knowledge of our mortality continues to intrude into our consciousness, disturbing the tranquility of our self-imposed ignorance.
It is often said that death is the last thing we talk about, and I suppose that is true. Personally, I have often said that I am prepared to quit speaking about death when people quit dying. However, as long as the statistic on death reveals that one out of one dies, I’m constrained to warn that each of us has a meeting with the death angel. I don’t exult in the need to speak about death, but reality intrudes upon my comfortable efforts to ignore what each of us must face—I am constrained to remind you of what is coming!
After a victory had been gained on the field of battle, the victorious Roman Army would parade through the streets of Rome. The vanquished and humiliated enemies would be exhibited while the powerful legions would be honoured. Following the proud legions would be slaves carrying the treasures that had been seized from the conquered enemies of the Empire. The treasures would be paraded through the streets of Rome so that the citizens would witness the value of legions and the prowess of the leaders of the Empire. Captives from the unfortunate foes would be compelled to follow the legions. Those captive warriors would be chained though the more notable captives would also be caged so those watching the parade could witness with their own eyes the futility of opposing the Roman legions.
At last, in the climax of the spectacle of state power, the victorious general would be carried through the streets in his chariot. Anyone watching this spectacle would notice a slave riding in the chariot with the great general. That slave would be holding a garland wreath over the head of the general. That wreath was the symbol of victory held above the general’s head so that all could see the might and prowess of the general. And as the chariot bearing the conquering general was drawn through the streets of the capital of the Empire, the slave would repeatedly whisper in the ear of the victorious general, “Memento mori,” “Remember death.” The conquering hero, the powerful general who had commanded the vast armies, knew the cheering crowds would one day cease to shout their praise for the victorious general. Powerful and praised as he was at that moment, that great man needed to remember that he must one day die. And we, also, must not forget that we must one day die. Memento mori. Indeed, “Memento mori.”
OUR FRAIL CONDITION —
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls.”
[1 PETER 1:24]
We live in a world that is dramatically different from the one in which our parents lived. Even within the days of my pilgrimage, I recall that black crepe was put around the door of a house in which someone had died. The family that had suffered the death of a loved one would announce to neighbours that death had visited the home. Everyone passing that home would see the black crepe and know that death was real. It has not been that many years past that the body of a loved one who died was lovingly laid on the kitchen table so that the body could be prepared for burial. There likely were no funeral homes, no specialists to deal with placing the bodies of the dead out of sight. The community united to care for the burial of the dead, and all would see death.
Death is almost foreign to contemporary culture. We don’t grapple with death as did our forebears. A funeral home cares for the unpleasant details of preparing bodies for burial. We don’t want to be disturbed by such unpleasantness. Contrast the modern situation with that of an earlier era. The noted New England minister Cotton Mather was the father of fourteen children. Seven of his children died as infants shortly after birth. Another of his children died at age two. Of the six children who survived to adulthood, five died in their twenties. Only one of Mather’s children outlived his father. Cotton Mather was a prominent man who was able to provide the finest care money could buy at that time. Yet, he buried thirteen of his children. Death has not always been a distant and unseen spectre in the world.
People don’t marry today anticipating that they will be forced to bury their children. In an earlier era, women who became pregnant knew that there was a very real possibility that they would die in childbirth. In that earlier day, if your child developed a fever, you didn’t fret that she might miss a day of school, you were worried that she might not recover from whatever caused the fever. Moreover, whatever may have caused her fever was a threat to each member of the family.
A fever indicated an illness that represented a threat to each family member. Those illnesses that caused fevers were potential killers. Influenza, smallpox, measles, rubella, diphtheria, yellow fever, cholera, and a hundred other diseases that are unheard of in modern Canada were killers always lurking near the living in that day.
Things have changed radically in this day. Death in childbirth is no longer given serious consideration for the most part. Epidemics, true epidemics and not manufactured pandemics, are almost unheard of in this day. We are terrified at the thought of a viral pandemic when more than ninety-nine percent of those contracting the illness will survive! We lock down the economy of entire nations and fearfully shut ourselves in our homes, isolated, lonely, and willingly destroying our society lest some among us die.
At the end of the eighteenth century, four out of five people died before age seventy. Average life expectancy in that day was somewhere in the late thirties; now, we anticipate living to near eighty years of age. We each know many people who are ninety years of age or more. We expect to live longer than our allotted three score and ten years.
We are not only living longer—we’re living better! We have become accustomed to having drugs designed to combat cancer, to slow the deterioration of our bodies or even our minds. Surgery can repair a herniated disc, the pain of a torn meniscus of the knee can be alleviated surgically, and vision clouded by a cataract can be surgically corrected. Our great-grandparents, and perhaps even our grandparents would have anticipated that they would have to live with these conditions; but we no longer are compelled to put up with the inconvenience of the normal wear and tear on our bodies.
However, these medical marvels have come to us with an unnoticed side effect. The knowledge that we must die is shoved far into the back of our minds so we don’t need to think of death. It is only when someone we know dies and we must attend their funeral that we are forced to think of death. And even then we try to deny the inevitable. We attend a “celebration of life,” rather than going to a funeral. We invite friends and family to share memories rather than allowing ourselves to think of the brevity of life. The eulogy is more important than is any mention concerning our accountability to Him to Whom we must give an accounting. If the casket is open, the morticians will have worked hard to disguise the ugliness of death. “She looks so natural,” we murmur, though in our heart we want to scream out that there is nothing natural about death.
In an earlier day, when a family member died, the body was laid out on the kitchen table and neighbours would visit us at a wake. Mourners would be comforted by those who had known the one who died. Black crepe would be draped on the front door so that those passing by would know that a death had occurred in that house. Those who knew us would bring food, knowing that we would need to feed those coming to the funeral. Today, we just pay the funeral home a catering fee which is added to the various fees charged to care for the body of our loved one.
In that earlier day people didn’t hide from the inevitable; people confronted death, knowing that it was “the last enemy.” No one was happy with the thought of dying, but they didn’t attempt to hide from death—they couldn’t hide from death! Today, we seem genuinely surprised that death prevails. Our loved ones often die alone, isolated in a sterile environment and without friends or family to stand with them in that final journey to the unseen world. In hospital, with tubes inserted into every imaginable orifice and the electronic beeping of machines that attempt to keep the heart beating and maintaining breathing, we move inexorably toward that inevitable encounter with the death angel.
Despite stunning advances in modern medicine, the statistics of death has remained unchanged—one out of one still dies. But we aren’t compelled to think about that statistic—until we are compelled to think about it. Consequently, living within this modern society, we have become unrealistic about death. Living in a society that has shoved even the thought of death far from our consciousness, we have no sense of urgency to complete matters that hold eternal import. In this, we reveal the inherent weakness of contemporary life. We are frail and weak, and we have no way to change our situation until we face up to the deficits of our present condition.
I recall a message that I delivered some years past in which I addressed the reality of death. I had entitled that message, “When Death Has Taken My Loved One!” [4] Present at that service was a man who had buried his wife just weeks prior to visiting our services. Someone hastened to me to urge me not to preach the message I had announced. They feared the death of his wife would be too fresh in his mind. I received no freedom from the Lord to jettison the message He had given me. I recall thinking at the time that it was a strange world we now occupy. We now occupy a world in which the primary message at our funeral services consists of “Just move on!” “Don’t worry; be happy.” Thus, we reveal that we are unprepared to confront the reality of the last enemy, and perhaps that accounts for our casual attitude toward salvation.
Long years past, Moses, the man of God, wrote a Psalm that speaks of our frailty. In the NINETIETH PSALM, Moses wrote,
“O Lord, you have been our protector through all generations!
Even before the mountains came into existence,
or you brought the world into being,
you were the eternal God.
You make mankind return to the dust,
and say, ‘Return, O people!’
Yes, in your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday that quickly passes,
or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.
You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.”
In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up;
in the morning it glistens and sprouts up;
at evening time it withers and dries up.
Yes, we are consumed by your anger;
we are terrified by your wrath.
You are aware of our sins;
you even know about our hidden sins.
Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury;
the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.
The days of our lives add up to seventy years,
or eighty, if one is especially strong.
But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression.
Yes, they pass quickly and we fly away.
Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger?
Your raging fury causes people to fear you.
So teach us to consider our mortality,
so that we might live wisely.”
[PSALM 90:1-12 NET BIBLE]
The odds of living for an extended period beyond eighty-five years are miniscule. Some individuals do live longer than eighty-five years, but most of us know that anything past that age means we are living on borrowed time. I know that each year brings me closer to an inevitable end of this present life. Anything that I hope to accomplish must be completed shortly or the possibilities become exceedingly remote. It is not that I plan to die, but death comes regardless of my planning or my lack of planning. Though the thought of death may be disturbing, the poet has given voice to a truth in the words,
“And come he slow, or come he fast,
It is but death who comes at last.” [5]
Sobering words for us, but words that we do well to remember. Indeed, Memento Mori.
OUR INEVITABLE DATE WITH DEATH —
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls.”
[1 PETER 1:24]
I must pause for a moment to speak a word to any who have pretended to be followers of the Christ, to any who though holding membership in a church are nevertheless lost. Lost! You have never received the grace of God in Christ, though you may have submitted to a ritual. You do not believe, yet you know you must one day die. And what shall you do when you are called to surrender your life to the inevitable and you have no Saviour to deliver you? How do you think you will be able to stand against the inevitable? Have you no concern for your soul? Do you imagine that your times are in your own hands?
My fellow servants of the Lord, our family members are dying and facing eternity without hope and without God. What have we done to warn them? Our friends and those with whom we work are moving inexorably toward an eternity banished from the eternal precincts of Heaven. We need to take seriously the words of the old hymn.
Brethren, see poor sinners round you slumb’ring on the brink of woe.
Death is coming, hell is moving—Can you bear to let them go?
See our fathers and our mothers and our children sinking down.
Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around. [6]
All our labours must one day cease; whatever plans we may have made will be laid aside. And if the return of our Lord is delayed, each of us who name His Name will taste death. We, too, will know the struggle for a final breath, and we will each feel the cold hand of death chilling our body. The last enemy will prevail, but that final battle will eventuate in victory for each of us who have followed the Christ who conquered death.
Paul has confronted the eventuality which is the fate of each of us when he writes, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
‘O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?’
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-57]. Indeed, thanks be to God! Christ is victorious over death!
An unknown writer has written, and we are assured that his words are accurate, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” [HEBREWS 2:14-15].
Our Master, by His victory at the cross, has conquered death, hell, and the grave. The fearsome spectre of death that once haunted the lives of all mankind has been transformed into a servant of the Risen Christ. That which once threatened all mankind with the dissolution of hope has become the vehicle that shall transport us who are redeemed into the presence of the Saviour Who loves us and Who has given us life. Death no longer has power over us who are the redeemed of the Lord!
With this acknowledgement, I am asking you who hear me to make the transition in your mind from that which terminates this present existence to that which is eternal. Death comes to each of us, and should the return of our Saviour be delayed, none of us shall escape being touched by the icy hand of death. However, if we are followers of the Christ, life will just begin for us on that day. Death has not conquered us; death has been conquered.
We are still in the grip of a pandemic that in no small measure generates widespread fear through incessant media pronouncements that the world is surely ending. People are fearful of dying. Each day newscasts trumpet the number of deaths for that day. We hear the numbers of new cases of the Wuhan virus across the nation and throughout the province. We are told the number of hospital admissions and how many of those admitted to hospital are on ventilators. Every report is intended to create fear. We actually witness people draw back in alarm should they encounter someone who fails to wear the mask of shame indicating submission to fear. Fearmongers assail anyone foolish enough to act with a measure of freedom and dignity. It is impossible to draw any conclusion other than that which concedes that we are a fearful society, easily stampeded by the thought of death. It is exceptionally easy to remember death when it is constantly blared out throughout society.
Followers of Christ should not have been particularly eager to defy government, especially as those governments acted in fear. Scripture mandates that we must be gracious and gentle. What should never have marked the people of God is fear. We are taught by the Psalmist, and we must receive his words as truthful,
“I hear the whispering of many—
terror on every side!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
“But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, You are my God.’
My times are in your hand!”
[PSALM 31:13-15a]
Christ has taught us that we are to be considerate of those who are fearful; however, we must never allow ourselves to live a life in which we are driven to cringe at the thought of our death. We remember, and we freely confess, that we are but dust. Moreover, we know that we must one day leave this life, but we are not fearful! To the people of God I say, “Live boldly, knowing that Christ our Master is victor; and we are victors in Him.” Amen! Amen, indeed.
OUR ETERNAL HOPE —
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
[1 PETER 1:24-25a]
One day, as I’ve stated on numerous occasions from this pulpit, this body will draw a final breath and my constant struggle to continue with this present life will cease. At that time I will feel the chill of death spreading over my body as the inevitable happens and I make the transition from this present life to that which is eternal. Already, I see the signs of my incipient death. Don’t misunderstand! I’m quite attached to this body! I’ve grown quite comfortable with this physical entity and my current condition.
We joke about death, but isn’t the reason we do so because of our fear of death? Three men were talking on one occasion and the conversation turned to the subject of death. One of the men asked, “What do you want mourners to say at your funeral?” One of the men responded to that question by stating that he wanted people to say that he had been a good man, that he had been generous with his time and with his friendship to others. The man asking the question stated that he wanted people to remember him for his brilliance and his ability to discern deep secrets of life. Both turned to the third man to see how he might respond to this particular question. His response was this: “When I’m lying in my casket, I want to hear the congregation say, ‘Look! He’s moving!’”
Okay, I acknowledge that death is not a joking matter, but those living in this present western society appear determined to attempt to deal with the inevitability of death by pretending that they will never die—until they die. Too many of us who are counted among the faithful are infected with the dread virus commonly known as “fear.” Here is the truth that is easily forgotten: the child of God need not fear death, though we acknowledge that the act of dying may prove distressing for us. Undoubtedly, the process of dying can often bring pain, and none of us are eager to experience pain. Nevertheless, we who follow the Risen Saviour have received His rich promise that comforts and consoles all who follow Him.
You will no doubt recall Jesus’ encouragement for His people when He testified, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” [MATTHEW 24:35]. With these words, the Master assured His people that there is something which endures far beyond this present moment we call “life.” Jesus pointed His people to the only thing that is permanent—His Word. Jesus’ words echo those of the Psalmist, who has written,
“Forever, O Lord, Your Word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.”
[PSALM 119:89]
Our Saviour reminds that there is something abiding, something that can never be destroyed nor debased. Though we live in the midst of a decaying world, there is something that can never decay or be rotted. Something significant persists even when we no longer have our corporeal being, and that something is eternal—that “something” is the Word of the Living God, and His Word can never pass away.
Because the Lord God is eternal His Word is eternal, and because His Word can be neither soiled nor destroyed, the Saviour instructs all who would follow Him, “Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But keep on storing up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” [MATTHEW 6:19-21 ISV].
If we plant our hopes on the elements commonly associated with this dying world, we must be warned that we are building on shifting sand and anything in which we have hoped will be removed forever. Let me emphasise what I am saying—if our hope is built on our position in this life, if our hope is founded on any possessions we might acquire, if our hope is grounded in what we imagine to be power as this world understands power, we are trusting in that which cannot endure even this moment called now. If we fix our hope on family, on what we imagine to be love, the hope we imagined to be ours shall soon fade away. However, if we found our lives on and establish our aspirations on the eternal Word of God, we shall have chosen that which shall never pass away.
Do you imagine that the great granite mountains towering to the west are permanent? Geologists speak of the antiquity of the mountains, arguing in their ignorance that the rocks were somehow mysteriously formed in ages long past as continental cataclysms pushed molten lava from the core of the earth to the surface. However, we are cautioned that the rocks are destined to melt and be destroyed. The mountains will again be reduced to molten rock until vaporised into nothingness.
Is it actually possible that the vast oceans will one day cease to exist? We are told there is coming a day when the seas will be no more [see REVELATION 21:1]. The seemingly bottomless oceans and seas will ultimately dry up and be no more.
When you gaze up at the heavens, do you imagine the stars and planets to be ageless and that they will continue on without end? Carl Sagan was convinced that, “The cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be.” The noted anti-scriptural apologist for uniformitarianism appeared to be ignorant of Peter’s cautionary warning to mankind, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare” [2 PETER 3:10 NET BIBLE].
The Apostle to the Gentiles is warning us that all that is physical is destined for dust. Everything will be dissolved, and all that now constitutes the cosmos shall disappear with a horrific noise. There is no permanence in this present cosmos. All that our physical senses can explore will be removed. Even our motives will be exposed at that time. The only thing that will continue is the Word which the Master has given.
Anyone who imagines that science will persevere need but consider the fact that after receiving the vaccinations against the Covid virus, a booster is required within mere months. And even then, breakthrough infections are a problem. The rules for supposedly protecting oneself change with each newscast. Anyone who imagines that military might can protect a people need but recall the fiasco of Afghanistan when one doddering old man leading a principal nation decided to leave the country despite the chaos leaving created. We would do well to recall the cautionary statements of the Psalmist.
“The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.”
[PSALM 33:17]
Trusting in armed might without a moral foundation is a fool’s hope destined for failure. Might does not make right when the right that is sought is devoid of righteousness. The only thing that is assured to continue despite the folly of this dying world is the Word of the Living God.
The foundation on which one builds is vital. We witness the Apostle teaching us, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” [1 CORINTHIANS 3:10-11]. Christ is our foundation! His Word is eternal because it has been given by One Who is Himself eternal. Thus, when we found our lives on the Son of God we are establishing our very lives—that which truly matters—on Him Who is eternal. If you will have a lasting heritage, your life must be fixed on Christ’s eternal Word. His Word is the rock upon which you must build if you hope to continue strong.
I fear that many of the comforting truths flowing from the words Jesus spoke have become so familiar that they are easily ignored in the midst of our hurried daily routines. Jesus didn’t say that we should ignore responsibility for our family by neglecting to provide for their needs now and in the future; He did say that focusing on accumulating “things” to the exclusion of seeking God’s glory is nothing short of practical atheism. The treasures associated with this life can be destroyed and/or stolen. If you question that, think of how easily your retirement funds can disappear. The stock market’s response to some crisis can destroy hopes for the future, and if such manipulations are not enough to take your breath away, the tender mercies of parliamentary machinations will ensure many sleepless nights as MPs plot how to appropriate more of what you thought you had to ensure their re-election. In the truest sense of the matter, only what you invest in the work of the Kingdom of God will continue throughout eternity.
Jesus tells us that where we invest what we possess reveals what we deem to be precious. We are given oversight of our goods and oversight of our own character; and the manner in which we administer that for which we are charged with oversight will either honour the One Whom we claim to worship, or we will ensure the loss of all that we thought we possessed. There are no pockets in the death shroud. As Paul has told us, “We have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either” [1 TIMOTHY 6:7 NET BIBLE].
Here is the truth that each person needs to take home now—you will not live forever, but you can possess eternal life. One day, you will set aside this body. Whether you set it aside by what is called “death,” or whether you set it aside by exchanging this transient tent for a permanent home at the Rapture of the saints of God, you will not continue on in this body. As he wrote in his second missive to the saints in the Diaspora, Peter confessed, “I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me” [2 PETER 1:14]. You may not know the day or the hour of your death, but you know that you must set this body aside. Nor would any of us wish to continue in this body of death forever!
Likewise, Paul understood that he was rushing toward his date with death when he wrote, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” [2 TIMOTHY 4:6-7]. In similar fashion, each of us knows that we are moving inexorably toward that date with the last enemy.
I have sat by the side of multiple saints who asked that I pray with them, asking that the Saviour would permit them to go home. There comes a time when the struggles of this life no longer appear worth the effort and we are compelled to admit the overwhelming fatigue of our soul. We will have struggled as long as we are able, and at last the struggle no longer is worth the effort. When that day comes, and that day is assuredly coming, for the one who follows the Risen Saviour, it will not be defeat, but it will be victory.
“Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
“…So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being;’ the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-28, 42-49]. Alive in Christ; this is our destiny!
Imagine, closing your eyes as death proclaims victory over your body, only to open them as you look into the light of the glory of Christ! Imagine, hearing the mournful sounds of those who must remain behind, only to hear the sweet voice of Him Who conquered death, hell and the grave. Remember death! And anticipate life!
Elsewhere, the Apostle has put the matter into perspective when he writes, “We are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-9].
That is precisely the issue. We remember death because death becomes the means by which we enter into the presence of the Saviour. To be certain, we grieve when our loved ones leave us, but our sorrow is tempered by the knowledge that those who have died in Christ have not really gone away. We shall see them shortly, and no longer bound by the strictures that restrict us in this present life. We are confident of what lies ahead, for we are promised on the authority of God’s own Word when the Apostle wrote, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-17].
We are then urged to take heart as Paul counsels, “Therefore encourage one another with these words” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:18]. Remember death, indeed! But anticipate life! May God be glorified. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] George Atkins, in the hymn “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship,” 1819
[3] Henry Francis Lyte, “Abide With Me,” (Hymn) 1847
[4] Michael Stark, “When Death Has Taken My Loved One!” July 11, 2010, https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/when-death-has-taken-my-loved-one-michael-stark-sermon-on-death-148302
[5] Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field, XXX, Sir Walter Scott, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4010/4010-h/4010-h.htm, accessed 22 May 2021
[6] George Atkins, “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship,” (Hymn) 1819
