A Fear of Death

Just 3 months ago, I was writing posts celebrating Christmas and the birth of Jesus. Such a joyous time Christmas is. It's one of my favorite times of the year. Now just a few short months later, Easter is upon us.

For us, only a few months pass between celebrating a birth and celebrating a death. It sounds so gruesome to think of it as celebrating Jesus' death. But death is a huge part of why Christ came to earth. Without his shed blood, we would be hopelessly lost. Yet death is such a scary thing for us. At least, it is to me, even though I am a Christian. It's something I fight with myself about constantly. Something I have to pray about consistently. I have to ask God to take away my fear of death, to remind me that He is waiting for me on the other side and I have nothing to fear. And yet my flesh is so weak and so scared.

But just think about Jesus up on that cross - think about how much pain he was in, how he was suffering physically and spiritually. And remember He knew when His death was coming. He had lived His whole life knowing He would die for all of mankind. He knew how He was going to die. He knew He would be reviled, spit upon and beaten. Think about that moment when He was all alone on that cross - when He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Can you imagine be separated from the presence of God? That was probably worse than all the physical suffering he endured.

Remember how He prayed to God before it all happened, "Let this cup pass from me." He was afraid too. He had a human heart like the rest of us. It shatters me on the inside when I think about it. All the things He went through and yet He still went willingly to the slaughter.

Yet I fear death. I fear the end of my tiny human existence....

And I won't have a moment of separation from God like Jesus experienced. The Bible says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When I die, He will be there with me from the moment the last breath exits my body and He will be with me for the rest of eternity.

Why am I so afraid? I won't die like Jesus (hopefully). I won't ever be separated from God.That's comforting. Now when I am afraid, I will remember all that Jesus went through, how He faced the same things I will face, even more than I will face. If He can do it, then I can too. If He can walk purposely towards His death, then I can too. And I will be resurrected just like He was.

Remember Jesus' example this Easter and march onward!

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