Death and Dying

This is a little something Ronnie wrote up today after a conversation with a fellow soldier that left him thinking. Feel free to leave your comments.

Today I was asked a very intriguing question from a fellow soldier. As I was filling out our death cards, which contains information about where to be buried or cremated and next of kin and such, my friend next to me asked whether or not I was afraid to die. At first it seemed like a simple question, but then it reality hit like a freight train. I became slightly confused with the question and told him I’d get back to him.

As I was thinking about whether I fear death, I realized something to be true; I’ve always thought that as a Christian we shouldn’t fear death but embrace it as common knowledge that when it happens we go to heaven. I don’t necessarily think so any more. Now before everyone goes over the edge and starts flipping out let me explain and then you can decide for yourselves what you believe to be true.

Let me start by asking you a question; can you tell me that as a human you will not sin? I think we can all agree that the correct answer is no. We all “fall short of the glory of God,” we are sinners by nature. I am in no way trying to connect sin to fear, but am trying to show my logic of thinking as these two things are similar.

I believe that we, as humans, cannot honestly say we do not fear death. I realize that this is bold statement, but listen. As a United States Soldier, I’ve come close to death exactly 3 times (that I know of) since I’ve been in. I was honestly scared. What I am trying to get to is this: we need to be able to differentiate what we as Christians should and shouldn’t fear. We shouldn’t fear what comes after death. We shouldn’t doubt where death will take us. I know I am going to heaven when my time comes. BUT, I am still slightly afraid when the ACT of death is occurring.

I just want to clarify one thing. I am in no way condoning living a life of fear for that is wrong and the bible is quite clear about it. What I am saying or asking is this: is it really possible to say you don’t fear death? Have you ever come close to it? Did thoughts of family and loved ones come to mind? Thoughts like, “how will she be able to take care of herself,” or” I won’t ever get to have kids” come to mind? Once again I realize we should never worry about death, my point is when it happens there will be some fear.

This simple fact brought me to the correct way to ask the question. Perhaps it would be better to ask, “what will you do and how will you act when confronted with it?” The answer for me is that I will be a little bit scared. I will be scared of leaving my family, my friends, my amazing girl and her family and I will be thinking about how I could have done things differently ext.. This will all be surpassed though with coming into the arms of God.

This reality about fear is what led to another question. As a Christian, none of us wants to sin, but it will happen and when we are confronted with it, what will your reaction be? Will it be in anger? Arguing? Hate?

I apologize for taking so long in getting to the point, I suppose it comes from my mother’s side (love you mom). My reasoning is this. Instead of saying you do not fear death, ask yourself how you will react when the time comes, instead of saying I will not sin focus on what your reaction should be when it happens. So what do we do? Is fear imminent when confronted with death? Just before Jesus crucifixion the bible says “he offered prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him who was able to save him from death” (Hebrews 5:7). I believe this verse is here to show us that Jesus was not only the Son of God but also had the flesh of man.

So what are we to do with this fear? I think we need not embrace it but pray like Christ did to take away this fear. We need to remember that we get to spend eternity with Christ in heaven. Do you kind of see what I’m getting at? Fear, like sin, is inevitable. It is part of our sinful nature, so instead of looking for the worldly ways to ease it, simply look to our Lord and Savior. Ask him to give you the courage to move into eternity fearlessly. All along I have been looking for ways to either ignore my fear of the act of death or ease it by believing it won’t happen anytime soon. It is impossible to rid yourself of the fear you experience right before death, it is only possible to receive this holy peace through Jesus Christ. Are you afraid of death? What will your reaction be when you sin? Look to Jesus.

In summary, there is a difference between death and fear of dying. God grants peace in the moment that can overcome fear. But the fear is still there. It is not a fear of life after death, but a fear of a life unlived or death’s impact on others. My grandpa says that God granted us the instinct to preserve life, so the thought of death will always scare us. But it’s how we handle this fear that really matters.