Death

This was written by Alan in his Religion 100 class at UBC in 1974 before he had any symptoms of his head problems, or possibility of death. He was about 19 when he wrote this. ~ Ed Becker (Alan’s father)

For me, death is of little importance. This is because of my Christian beliefs. Since Christ conquered death on the cross, any born again Christian should have no fear of death. As Paul says in Philippians 1:20-25:

“Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But, I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.”

That is exactly how I feel. I am looking forward to being united with Christ and fellow Christians and yet I must stay here and tell others about Him. If Christians did not fulfill their duty to tell others, then many would be lost that could be saved.

For me, death is insignificant. According to Romans 8:38, nothing, including death, can separate us from the love of God. He loves us whether we are physically alive or dead, and as Christians we can never die spiritually,

“truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death” (John 8:51).

Also, I am not afraid of death. Again I quote a verse from Corinthians:

“Oh death where is your victory? O death where is your sting” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

Through Christ, all Christians have victory over death.

Death of non-Christians is a different matter. Their death is harder on Christians than it is on others, since the Christian knows that the person will be eternally separated from God. Thus they are very concerned when a non-Christian is very sick and are always ready to show him the way to God.

Conclusively, a Christian’s own death is of little or no concern to him. But a non-Christian’s death is very sad, if not disheartening.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

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