My father in law is dying. His will be the fifth death in our family in the last couple of years. He is 93, His wife was 91 when she passed. My dad was 94. One of the deaths was a miscarriage; one was a new mother of 32 years.
People will say about my wife’s parents and my dad that they led a full life and that their deaths in their 90’s were normal. They do not say the same thing about my daughter in law or the miscarried child.
The facts are though that death is not normal. It was never meant to be our experience.
In Genesis 2:16 – 17 (here @ Bible Gateway) the Lord commanded that Adam not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Lord promised that in the event that Adam did this, he would surely die. In Genesis 3:19 (here @ Bible Gateway), after Adam had disobeyed the direct command of the Lord, He fulfilled His promised result, “…you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Death is the result of the fall of the race; sin. It may not be a particular sin in the case of a person. But, the fact that we are human, descendants of Adam, whose nature changed when he disobeyed, we will experience death.
That is one of the reasons that we grieve so deeply. At a core level, we know that it is wrong. I watched life leave my father. It was obvious that he was no longer there. We talk of dying with dignity. There is no dignity in death. It is a result of our condition as sinners before a holy God.
The great news is that we have been offered a remedy. Christ died for us to pay for our sin. That allows us the opportunity to be restored to the life we were meant to live. To have eternal life with Him. We will still, should He delay His return, go through this physical death to be sure. However, if we trust Him, if we choose to follow Him, we will receive the gift of eternal life in His presence.
What we experience here was not the intention. What we can experience through Him is the gift.
The facts are though that death is not normal. It was never meant to be our experience.
In Genesis 2:16 – 17 (here @ Bible Gateway) the Lord commanded that Adam not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Lord promised that in the event that Adam did this, he would surely die. In Genesis 3:19 (here @ Bible Gateway), after Adam had disobeyed the direct command of the Lord, He fulfilled His promised result, “…you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Death is the result of the fall of the race; sin. It may not be a particular sin in the case of a person. But, the fact that we are human, descendants of Adam, whose nature changed when he disobeyed, we will experience death.
That is one of the reasons that we grieve so deeply. At a core level, we know that it is wrong. I watched life leave my father. It was obvious that he was no longer there. We talk of dying with dignity. There is no dignity in death. It is a result of our condition as sinners before a holy God.
The great news is that we have been offered a remedy. Christ died for us to pay for our sin. That allows us the opportunity to be restored to the life we were meant to live. To have eternal life with Him. We will still, should He delay His return, go through this physical death to be sure. However, if we trust Him, if we choose to follow Him, we will receive the gift of eternal life in His presence.
What we experience here was not the intention. What we can experience through Him is the gift.
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