I Hope You Die!

Some notes from my study of Hebrews 2:14-15... So Jesus destroyed the power of death, which is defined as the devil, or Satan. Well, what does that even mean? Clearly, Jesus hasn’t annihilated Satan. People still die, so death hasn’t been completely erased. If that’s the case, what is it about death that Jesus has destroyed? What is the true power of death? Well, when is death a bad thing? When does death have a negative power over people? Death has power in a couple of ways. First, it has the power to separate those who aren't believers from eternal life in Christ. Second, death has power in the fact that so many people are afraid of it. The power of death that I want to discuss here is the human fear of death. Death only has power over people who are afraid to die. People who aren’t afraid to die are sure about a number of things. The most important thing about which they are sure is their final state. Atheists believe that there is no afterlife. They believe that this life is all that there is. Christians believe that there IS an afterlife and that the afterlife is spent eternally in a place called heaven. Here’s the problem with atheism, though: I have never met a self-proclaimed atheist who was 100%, beyond a shadow of a doubt, completely sure that there absolutely cannot be a higher power behind creation (which isn’t atheism. That’s agnosticism, but I digress). Some atheists will even concede that a higher being is possible, but they just don’t see that the evidence leads towards God. In other words, in the deepest of atheism, there is still doubt as to the final repose. I do not mean to demean what atheists stand for as I believe these to be people of great faith in their viewpoint. In fact, a lot of atheists have better reasons for believing what they believe than some Christians. However, it is the Christian who can have true confidence of what happens after death. In that confidence, there is no fear. To live is Christ and to die is gain. It’s a win-win situation. For the atheist, to live is to live and to die is…well, I’m not really 100% sure. My question is this: to whom is the self-preservation instinct more important? Of course, I’m not going to go out and do stupid things that will get me killed just because I know where my eternity will be spent nor would I ever suggest that an atheist can’t do selfless acts that could get them killed, either. Defending a child and acts of patriotism, for example, are some powerful motivators towards potentially lethal courses of action. I will say this, though. (Opinion Alert!) The man or woman who has settled his or her account with God is much less likely to fear death than those who have not. If someone attacks my wife or some other public place where there are people, I don’t have the fear of losing my life at all. I can defend life and not fear losing my own because I know what’s at the end. It’s not even a consideration. I don’t have to rely on my own training and/or willpower to overcome fear nearly as much as if I had no assurance of eternal life in Christ. Training and willpower aren’t wasted on the debate over whether or not a situation is worth my life. I already gave it away in trade for an eternal one. This is what the Bible means when it speaks of “dying to self”. My life isn’t my own anymore. I can defend someone I don’t even LIKE without fear or without having to weigh how much I like or don’t like that person. More than that, I can put someone else’s needs before my own because I am less concerned with my own needs and desire than those of others. Here’s my point: in this lack of fear, there is freedom. I don’t have to make decisions based on what will preserve my life. I don’t make decisions based on what will keep me comfortable. I can actually live my life without being slave to the possibility of death. Speaking for myself, I can say that this freedom from fear of death lends itself to a larger perspective. The larger perspective that the freedom from fear of death brings is an eternal perspective on life and faith. The bottom line is that I am going to die. One day, in some way, I will die. What will I do with the last thirty or forty years that I have on this planet? Will I spend my life on others? Will I decide to seek pleasure or comfort? Will I use those years to be sure others know WHY I have no fear of death? With a freedom from the fear of death, I can now look beyond today with no fear. I have accepted my own death and my eternity. I think that this new eternal perspective means a new outlook on how I will live this last half of my life. It means that I can make decisions that move beyond comfort and selfishness. To live is to accept death and to die to self. When we live our lives dead to our own flesh and desires, the physical end will be much easier to accept. So, at the end of the day, I guess I hope that I can continue to die daily. In fact, I hope you die, too!