DEATH IS NOT FINAL
Death is not the end of a life. In death we come to a crossroads for the dead and the living. The dead will, of course, phase out physically from the present life whereas the living will thrive on whatever resources they have at their disposable, including positive sustainable legacies of the dead.
When a loved one dies, our immediate response would in most instances be one of sadness. The normal ebb and flow of life, for all its worth, comes to a momentary standstill and time sort of freezes out on us. In one swift and sweeping brushstroke on the canvass of life, our priorities crystallise into what really matters -- family, health and friends. We are richer or the poorer on account of them.
A time of reflection weaves itself into our sadness and begins to sieve our recollections of the departed loved one into a mound of fond memories. This, in turn, provides added impetus to the impacted living ones to live it up for their own good and to do the dead proud. Following on from death, the baton of life passes on to the succeeding runners as time for the living speeds on once again. For the living, a significant part of us may have been chipped away but an endearing portion of the dead becomes enjoined to us and we gain a deeper and wider comprehension of a complete life.
Eventually we will all die one day, yet we shall live; whatever good we have done for another will live on in the lives of those whom we have affected positively. In "Thank you", a song written by Ray Boltz, there is a scene in heaven where many strangers come forward to thank an individual for being the light of the love of God while on earth. The esteemed individual had no idea that the little but crucial acts of kindness or sacrifice could mean so much as to help them come to faith in the true, living and eternal God. Indeed, we shall reap what we sow, not necessarily in the here and now, but in the hereafter. So, we should never tire of meaning well and do all the good that we are in a position to render.
Even though death is not final, it could well be the final arbiter of life when all is said and done. As Job of the Bible has said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart." What of the physical realm can we take with us when dead? Nothing. The organs of our bodies are better donated (to needful recipients hanging on for dear life) than buried or burned to ashes.
The book of Hebrews records for us that: It is appointed unto man once to die. It is inevitable that all of us will have an appointment with death. Not many of us would be like Methuselah who lived 969 years or be like Enoch who walked with God and was taken up to heaven directly without undergoing death. Also, there will probably never be another like Elijah who was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. The knowledge of the certainty of death could perhaps assist us to prepare for this final hurdle of life as we know it. But, is there literally life-after-death?
To the followers of Jesus Christ, death in the realm of time is not final. In an account from the gospel, Lazarus, a dear friend of His was dead and placed in a tomb for four days. Undaunted, Jesus proclaimed, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." He then proceeded to the tomb where Lazarus was laid, and shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" Lazarus came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. On another occasion Jesus said to His disciples, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so I would not have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
Life and death are like two sides of the same coin. To live we have to face death and, in the face of death, we shall yet live. In a recent issue of Reader's Digest, I read that Luciano Pavarotti, the renowned opera singer, came face to face with death in a coma with tetanus at the age of 12. When asked how he came through the ordeal, he said, "You turn on all your positive, optimistic energy. And when you come out of the tunnel, you not only have an outsized appetite for life, you understand what life is about. Life is death. It seems absurd, but the only important thing in life is death. There's birth, then death. All the other things, whether positive or negative, are incidental."
(All Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version)
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