“One of these days you will read in the newspaper that D. L. Moody is dead. Don’t you believe it. I will be more alive then than I have ever been before.” - D.L. Moody
It is the conviction of every Christian that life does not end at the cemetery. There is an eternal spirit in us that cannot be destroyed by the death of the body. Death is not the end of life; it is really the beginning of it. That’s why John declares, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13).
Death, then, is for God’s people the doorway to rest, to rewards, and to the resurrection.
1. Death is a doorway to rest. The word “rest” is a beautiful word. It means to take ease, to be refreshed. It suggests an end to the toils and tribulations of life. Jesus promised us rest in this present world when he said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). But he has also promised us full and complete rest in eternity. We need to thank God for death. As journalist Stewart Alsop wrote, there are times when a sick man needs to die like a tired man needs to sleep. Sometimes we need to lay our burden down and be at rest.
2. Death is a doorway to reward. We sometimes think of death as destroying all that we have done on the earth. But the fact is that even beyond this life our works continue to follow us. We are all making a record on earth that we shall carry with us into eternity. By the lives we live, by the words we say, and by the deeds we do, we are laying up for ourselves treasure in heaven. Our destiny in eternity is determined by what we do with Jesus Christ. Our reward in that destiny is determined by the works that we do.
3. Death is a doorway to the resurrection. The Bible teaches more than the survival of the spirit of a person. It also teaches the resurrection of the body. The word resurrection literally means “to stand up.” When Jesus Christ comes back to the earth again, the dead bodies that have been buried in the grave will “stand up” once again. These old diseased, decaying, and aging bodies of ours will be made new and eternal like the resurrected body of Jesus.
This is death from God’s point of view, and when we die in the Lord we are assured of sharing in this blessed experience.
in memory of Paul W. Powell (December 6, 1933 - December 28, 2016)