...from the desk of Rande Wayne Smith D.Min., Th.M., M.Div.

Battlegrounds - 4

DEATH SEEMS A TERRIBLE WAY TO GO

Philippians 1:20-24
I shall bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more. But if by continuing to live I can do more worthwhile work, then I am not sure which I should choose. I am pulled in two directions. I want very much to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing; but for your sake it is much more important that I remain alive.
 

May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion to His glory and our edification.  Amen.

When it comes to death, our culture is spotty at best in the way we handle it.

On the one hand, we’ve mastered taking care of the body. From the hospital room … where more than 80% of Americans die … to the morgue … to the “slumber rooms” of the funeral home … to the pre-purchased cemetery lot, we have a system of body-handling which is streamlined and efficient.

We don’t do too badly with the bereaved either … beautiful cards, flowers, limousines, and soft music.
Handle a body; comfort the bereaved. We have it down to a science. But face death head-on … that’s another story.

The majority of people I know don’t want to face death. It’s much better to camouflage it. Death represents the most frightening of all battlegrounds in the human spirit. Actually, most of us would prefer to withdraw from the conflict before the battle begins. And so we do.

British author, J.B. Priestly observes, “Humanity is frightened by the mere word ‘death,’ but nowhere more than in America. At dinner parties there I have brought up the question of death just to study the stunned reactions. Most people switch off the subject as if they were changing television channels.” And it’s my experience that Priestly is right on target.
But the fact of the matter is … death is an experience through which everyone of us is going to pass. All the other battlegrounds that we’ve been looking at may or may not be applicable … but this one is. And, since we’re Christians, we should know what Scripture says about the subject.

And when we do that, we find that there is no one more conscious about the reality of his death … apart from Jesus … than the Apostle Paul.

Now the Psalmist talks a lot about death, but not as healthfully and hopefully as does Paul. And the reality was for Paul the likelihood of a violent death would be a probable ending.

Most of us fear death; Paul didn’t.
Now some people try to tell us that death makes life meaningless. If everything ultimately ends in an experience which is completely out of our control, why not simply “eat, drink, and be merry.” It’s all going to end sooner or later anyway. Paul didn’t feel that way.

Other people look at death and see it as a dreadful end to all types of meaningful existence. Just when one has heaped up the fruits of their labor to the extent where they might be enjoyed, everything comes to an end. It’s worth being bitter about.

But Paul’s view of death didn’t include that feeling.

Again, here’s a man whose life was in the hands of the Roman government.
He could be executed immediately if the emperor so directed.

Under such a constant threat, it’s interesting to hear Paul’s view about his possible death: “For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more. But if by continuing to live I can do more worthwhile work, then I am not sure which I should choose. I am pulled in two directions. I want very much to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing; but for your sake it is much more important that I remain alive.”

I suspect the best word which describes Paul’s attitude toward death is ambivalence. He saw life before death … and life after death. But he didn’t spend much time thinking about the in-between … namely, death.
This man actually has a difficult time concluding which side of death he prefers. And don’t think of him as morbid. He wasn’t suicidal; he wasn’t depressed. He certainly wasn’t giving up; Paul never did.

He just happens to look at life from a totally different viewpoint than most of us.

1st of all, he was ambivalent because he saw very positive reasons for being on either side of death’s door. To remain in this world, he said, would be to continue a life of servanthood. But to leave it would mean being with Christ, which he wrote, “is a far better thing.”

Should he live in the world, there was plenty to do. The church scattered about Macedonia and Greece needed him.
There was teaching, caring, rebuking, and church-plating to do.

Even if he had to stay in jail for a long period of time, he could cope with that. There were soldiers to talk with … and you know what happens to them when they become Christians and get transferred to other parts of the Empire. Stay alive? Yeah! There was plenty to do!

But die? That was “far better.” That would mean being “with Christ.” For Paul that meant life was definitely going to take on new and broader dimensions. He was ready for that.

So Paul wasn’t going to spend time brooding on the when and why of his death. For him it was simply a change of scenery.
Should he have his preference, it would be to hurry up and get to Heaven. But facing the reality of the situation, it was probably better for him to hang around for awhile.

Now, my question is this … what’s the secret of such an attitude? Obviously, it has something to do with being a Christian. To know Jesus Christ so personally and intimately that you can’t wait to see Him face-to-face. But honestly, I think it’s something more than that.

What colors Paul’s view of death is his view of life. For Paul, life was the process of servanthood. As long as he lived here, the name of the game was building the Church of Jesus Christ. He hadn’t taken the time to accumulate all sorts of things, and honors, and comforts.
There was nothing here to attract him. He apparently saw the possibility of rest and relaxation as something he’ll enjoy when he finally made it to Heaven. So the thing that made him ready to head for Heaven was that he wasn’t leaving much behind on earth.

That’s not true for a lot of us. Our “investments” have been heaped up so high in terms of comforts and possessions that we can’t imagine that Heaven is a preferable place.

Thus, death is the great cheater … it robs us from all the things we’ve spent a lifetime working for.

What we’re really saying is that we cannot believe that Heaven is superior to all we’ve put together here in this life.
Sir Thomas Browne put it this way, “the long habit of living ill disposes us for dying. We cannot be greatly concerned about death. Life has been very, very good.”

That’s why one man remained seated in the congregation when the Pastor asked everyone who wished to go to Heaven to stand. When everyone stood except him, the Pastor, somewhat shocked, said, “Don’t you want to go to Heaven?” The reply was instant, “Sure I do; but I thought you meant right now.”

Most of us want to go to Heaven … wherever and whatever it is. But right now? No! We’ve got loved ones who need us and whom we need. We’ve got things to get in order. We’ve got things to see, places to go, achievements to complete. We’ve got some regrets to clean up. We don’t share Paul’s ambivalence.

Perhaps our fear of death is based on this twisted view of life. Too many of us have not only tried to serve in this life, but we’ve tried to make our paradise here as well. And because Heaven seems too high a risk to take, we prefer the “mini-heaven” we’ve made here.

Well, Paul didn’t have a mini-heaven here. His investments were in Heaven, and he couldn’t wait to begin to enjoy it. Stay here he would as long as he was needed. But enter the presence of Christ … Paul was ready to go.

Let’s take another look at Paul’s view of death. This time we see him writing to the Corinthians.
“Listen to this secret truth: we shall not all die, but when the last trumpet sounds, we shall all be changed in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye. For when the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised, never to die again, and we shall all be changed. … Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

“So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless.”

Over the years I’ve seen some people so fearful of death that they became paralyzed with fright.
As far as they could see, death rendered everything worthless. What’s the use of doing anything meaningful, anything which is selfless? If all life ends in death, why not spend the years which are left simply having a good time? Forget everyone and everything else.

That’s what the rich fool did. Luke described his philosophy of life, and it amounted to this … “You can’t take it with you; so squander it as fast as you can, and enjoy the trip.”

Paul doesn’t see things that way. He starts with the words “secret truth.” That means that Paul is about to say something which only Christians can fully appreciate and understand. Everyone outside of the Gospel will generally think that his point is absurd.
What’s the secret truth? That we shall be changed … suddenly, dramatically, triumphantly. That’s Paul’s view of death … change.

Death is not the dreaded final curtain over an exciting play. It’s not the whistle which ends the game. Death is not life’s pink slip which tells us that we’re terminated. At best, Paul says, death is only a doorway from one point on the process of life to another. That’s very important.

When we come to faith in Jesus we cross through a door called commitment. We left one style of life behind and we embraced another. For some of us it was actually like dying. Some of our friends probably thought we had died. One of my friends really said that.
“Rande’s become a Jesus freak. No more good times. He might as well be dead.”

But we passed through the door anyway. What did we find on the other side of the commitment? Life! We look across the years we’ve had in the fellowship of Jesus Christ, and we wonder how we ever survived in the old way. We look at others who have avoided commitment, and we pity them.

Coming to faith was the beginning of a process of God working in us.

Death is another point in the process. Paul says, “We shall all be changed.” What began at conversion is now going to end in coronation. Change was important for Paul. He was old; he was sickly.
He saw in that change a renewal of his life processes. He saw that he would be made whole, perfected, and likened to Jesus Himself.

That was quite appealing to Paul, and it should be to anyone who suffers today.

I’m saddened with how few Christians fully understand and embrace this concept of change. We sing Christian songs like, “When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be,” … but we treat the death of a believer as if it is the greatest defeat. Someone is dying, and we pray with fervor that they will be delivered from death as if it were a terrible event.

Do we speak with forked tongues? We say with one side of our mouths, “we can’t wait to see Jesus.”
And with the other side, “Keep away from it as long as possible.”

I look at a young couple stand up here for their wedding ceremony. Upon their commitment to each other they walk out of the sanctuary and are immediately surrounded by their friends. They are showered, recepted, riced, bubbled, cheered, and befriended.

They’re at a point of change in their lives, and we rejoice with them. (Perhaps a few old bachelor friends stand on the sidelines grimly observing the festivities and think to themselves of the departed groom, “He might as well be dead.”)

Paul sees death in the same light as the celebrating guests. It’s a time of “departure,” he says.
A new point in the process is about to begin. Rejoice!

Paul says, “So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless.”

His point is … death does not render life meaningless. Death is simply an escalating point in the process of living. What is started here on earth is expanded in Heaven. “Don’t stop now,” Paul writes.

The fact that death is not finality but merely change means that life goes on. “Keep going, Corinthians, it gets better and better. Remain faithful, there’s no pink slip in the Christian experience.”
No wonder Paul kept working right to the moment he died. He never retired.

But Paul has a 3rd view of death, and it’s written just before his point of change. “As for me, the hour has come for me to be sacrificed; the time is here for me to leave this life. I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith. And now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day – and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear.”

Here’s a new word for death … leave. Paul’s a man who has put his life in order. As Pope John put it just before his death, “my bags are packed; I’m ready to go.”
What made Paul so confident? The fact that he had lived properly. Look at the verbs. “I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith.”

This is not the hysterical claim of an egoist. It’s a man who’s saying, “I’m not ashamed to face God with what I’ve done. He gave me opportunities and challenges. I took them on to the best of my capacities. I’m ready to stand before Him. I’m ready to leave.”

Some of us may fear death because we think that if we had a little more time, we could straighten out some of the embarrassing aspects of our lives and personalities. Or we survey our past and we’re doubtful that God would really be very happy to welcome us to Heaven.
We don’t want to enter Heaven purely on a technicality. What we’re saying is that we think … like the servant in Jesus’ parable … that God is a “hard man.”

Who among us has accomplished ministry like Paul? None of us. But thank God that He doesn’t judge things that way. One like Paul may receive more rewards in terms of quantity, but the real issue is in waiting “with love for him to appear.”

And to love His appearing is a moment by moment experience which doesn’t hang on past performance. It’s a present tense experience, and it can begin right now when I say, “Lord, more than anything here on earth, I wish to be in Your presence and experience what You think is best for me.”
When people begin to, “wait with love for him to appear,” the old game of life changes. Things which were of importance here start to dim in value. Matters of eternity begin to take on the specter of brilliance and joy.

Now, not all of us have fought an entirely good fight; and we may not have finished the entire race; and we may not have kept the faith to the extent we would have liked. But we can “wait with love for him to appear.”

And when that happens we start seeing death as a departure into His presence … not an end of all existence. Without this great hope, the entire Gospel collapses into meaningless jargon. And that’s why death doesn’t mean anything to Paul.
It reminds me of a comment in Eugene O’Neill’s play “Lazarus Laughed.” O’Neill pictures the man Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, as living long afterwards in Greece.

One day he’s brought with other Christians before the Roman emperor Caligula and charged with crimes against the State … that of being a believer in Christ.

Caligula regales Lazarus with the power of death which he holds over the lives of Christians. Then Lazarus fixes his eye upon the Emperor and begins to laugh. Caligula hears Lazarus say, “Death is dead, Caligula.”

Death is dead … dead that is if you are talking about something final.
But if you’re talking about change and departure, then bring it on; it ushers in the beginning of Eternity.

No wonder Paul was ambivalent. No wonder Paul worked harder than ever. No wonder Paul anticipated entering God’s presence with confidence.

For him death was a door, and the sooner he walked across its’ threshold, the sooner life was going to become more expansive and exciting than he could ever imagine!

Sadly, for some people, death may seem like a terrible way to go … a battlefield. But not for Paul … he was ready. Are you?

 

MARANA THA