THE FINAL ENEMY

            Today I stood with his family as he took his final breaths. Each breath more shallow, more labored, farther apart. Then they stopped and it was over. I will never get used to it; death. Over the years I have done this a number of times. I wish that it was getting easier, but it isn’t. There is no way around the fact that death is the enemy; we fight against its ugly grip for as long as we can.

            Death is the direct result of sin in our world. God didn’t design us for death; he designed us for life. When sin entered the world, death took up residence. It has been reigning ever since. It comes in many forms; emotional death, spiritual death, relationship death, physical death. When it comes, it brings heartache, pain and sorrow.

            Death is our final enemy. It parades through our world with arrogance, bravado and total disregard. It acts as if it is the master. It acts as if it is unstoppable, but it is wrong. Death is a defeated enemy.

            When Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose to new life, he conquered death. Even though we must still face physical death, Jesus has taken away its power. We no longer have to fear death because, in Christ, we have hope.

            It is natural for us to fear death. Death seems like the final statement of our life. But in Christ, death is only the birthing canal to new life in Him. The Apostle Paul wrote words of encouragement to give us the courage to face death unafraid.

            I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (NIV)

            Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.  According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NIV)

            In both of these passages, Paul puts a different face on death. Death is the passageway from mortality to immortality, from perishable to imperishable. Death becomes our metamorphosis experience; shedding the frail form of our physical body for a resurrection body.

            Death has been defeated by what Christ did on the cross for us. He cancelled the power of sin and death and set us free. We have the ultimate victory.

            We can face death with hope for the future. One day we will be gathered with those who have gone before us and we will stand together with Christ forever. For the believer in Christ, death is not the end of the story, but only the end of a chapter. A new and more glorious chapter is ahead. As C.S. Lewis put it, we leave the shadow lands of this world to enter the vibrant world of eternity.

            When Jesus faced the death of a close friend, he mourned over the pain that his friends were experiencing. In the midst of the pain, he issued a promise for all that will fully trust him.

            Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NIV)

            We stood around the bed and watched as he slipped from this life to the next. We shed tears of grief. We also celebrated the promise of Jesus, for although his physical body died, he has won the ultimate victory in Christ. “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” We believe it!