Title: Someone Who Can Die with Joy
Contents
"And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are those who die in the Lord after the end of the monsoon." And the Holy Spirit said, "Yes, they will put an end to their labor and rest, according to what they have done."
My mother was hospitalized in a car accident. At that time, I thought as I watched the people struggling with the disease in the hospital. Are you going to spend your days in vain because your body is uncomfortable and tied to a disease? It can't be. It is a precious life that God has allowed, but how can we spend in vain a life that God values as much or more than that of Jesus Christ?
While I was waiting in front of my mother's operating room, an old woman next to me said this to me. It is said that people go to joy when they are born and to sorrow when they die.
no. When you are born, only those around you are happy, but you do not realize that you are happy. But when we die, we go before the throne of God with joy in joy. The last appearance of the saints who served the Lord with their best, bore beautiful fruits and were saved through faith is never sad or afraid. Am I preparing to die? I want to run into the arms of the Lord, shouting "Hallelujah!" with joy. The joy of birth is not a choice, but the joy of death is a choice.
“We do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
The Bible says
“And that he might release all those who, out of fear of death, were bound by their lifelong bondage” (Hebrews 2:15).
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
The preacher Spurgeon, along with his wife, suffered from various diseases. With Spurgeon, who lives while taking care of his wife who is always bedridden, everyone thought that he would send his wife to heaven first. However, Spurgeon died first at the age of still in his early fifties.
The last words of the great preacher as he left this world holding the hand of his beloved wife touch our hearts. And his will shows what the end is like for a person who accepts the very goodness of God as the purpose of his life. The man of God who lived his whole life with the gospel said this.
"Honey, I have had such a happy time with a good God."
The time of the death of Queen Elizabeth of England, who was a devout believer, is approaching. After he had all his servants leave the room, he held hands with her husband and sang the top lady's hymn ardently, 'The rock will be opened and I will enter.' Now, looking at the hope of heaven and the glory of Christ, his hymns were filled with joy and even trembled. If it is the faith that praises the Lord for the last moment on this earth and gives thanks for the grace of his redemption, wouldn't he rest in the arms of Christ, who is our refuge and eternal resting place!
We do not know when God will call us. On that day, I must prepare myself to face death with joy.
“Watch therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13).
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
How have we seen death so far? Even if death comes to us who believe, there is no change in the life that Jesus originally gave us. Only the environment changes. That's why Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live" (John 11:25). Death is a change, and there is no real death for those who are in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:13) is. For us believers, we believe that death is not a fear, but rather the joy of meeting the Lord and a new birth. I hope that all the members of the church will have this hope and lead a life of faith in joy.
* Prayer: God who controls life and death, help us not to despair or be afraid even in the face of death and cry out to God. Let me live each day given to me for the sake of Jesus Christ and the gospel, and live a life that I confidently say, 'Lord, here I am,' whenever you call me. May you always be ready to meet the Lord. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen