Remember the last time you had a conversation about taxes? They are all around us. Taxes are a daily encounter. There’s sales tax, property tax, use tax, income tax. There are always articles and seminars on how to comply, manage, and minimize the impact of taxes on our lives. We feel the impact of taxes to the point where they rightly earn their place in Ben Franklin’s old adage that taxes are one of only two things in life that are certain. The other of course is death.
When was the last time you talked about death or were drawn to read an article about preparing for death? As I get older, my encounters with death arise more and more frequently, but conversions about death remain taboo with seemingly little effort invested in preparation. A few of us acknowledge the certainty of our passing by preparing some kind of documentation (last will, trusts, care directives) to ease the inconvenience of those left behind. How many of us demonstrate the gravity of this inevitability by learning, and then sharing, what it takes to determine our ultimate destination, of which Christians know there are only two?
I contend that passing on this knowledge is by far the most important inheritance you can leave those that you love. It starts with gathering and distilling down your own understanding of Biblical truths, living them through your words and deeds, and then doing all you can, right now, not later, to make sure everyone you care about knows what you know about life and death.
Many families gather at the time of a passing to have a service, a remembrance, a celebration, or other means of honoring and remembering the recently departed. While talk is seasoned with heartfelt encounters, we may miss the opportunity to reinforce the truths of our faith just when people need it the most.
When we gather to mourn the end of a life, Christian’s know they believe one either died in the Son or in their sin. Knowing that the departed was a person of faith in Jesus Christ, we rejoice! However, if we don’t know the person’s relationship with the Creator, it should sharpen our efforts to share the truth we know with each and every one of those left encircling that grave; and that means everyone.
In our sorrow, Christians do not grieve as those who have no hope. Yes, we weep, because death wounds. As our Lord did at the tomb of Lazarus, He wept. We mourn the empty chair, the silent voice, the absence. We turn the corner and expect to see them or hear the phone ring and talk with them. When the cruelty and void of these unfulfilled expectations hits us, the tears come. When tears come, we ought not let them not be forced away. While allowed, we shed them knowing we are in the presence of God, and turn within in the fellowship of the friends and family He has given us.
Grief is natural; sorrow is real; loss is painful. Yet a Believer’s sorrow is tempered by hope, a living hope. Because ours hope rests on Christ: the One who told Martha is the “resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.”
For those who belong to Him, death is a doorway into His presence. The transition is instantaneous and forevermore. Christians also trust in reunion, restoration, and resurrection. We trust that on the day of His return, the dead in Christ shall rise, be fitted with glorified bodies, and join together to be with Him.
Our grief is reshaped by the promise of eternal life, of bodies renewed, of suffering ended. We let this hope comfort us in times of sorrow and always. We let our hope rise with them: we know that death is not the end; our dearly departed is not lost, but is with our Lord, waiting, resting, until the trumpet sounds and we are all reunited.
The next time you find yourself talking (ok, complaining) about taxes, remember to make a real and everlasting impact on the lives of your friends and loved ones by sharing with them the hope you have in Christ. May the Holy Spirit lead your life as you joyfully bear one another’s burdens and hold one another in love, resting in the certain and everlasting hope given to us in Jesus Christ.