Lord, Bless Us To Remember Those Who Have Gone On Before Us.
May We Be Ready When You Call Our Name. Amen
We celebrate Memorial Day when we pause to remember those who have gone to the other side; it should also be a time when we try to grasp–a better understanding of Life, Death, and Resurrection. Death is a debt that all of us must pay, sooner or later. We all must face it whether we want to or not.
Life is full of mysteries, but nothing is as mysterious to us as Death. Nothing puzzles us more than the things about Life after Death. The Apostle tells us that we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed–in the end. The Apostle, however, does not explain the transformation he predicts; he merely states the fact. Our curiosity and our needs are left unsatisfied. In the 2,000 years since Paul wrote these words, no one else has been able to clarify the Resurrection any more than he did.
And if we must wait until the mystery has been dispelled before we can believe in the Resurrection, we may be waiting forever; on the other hand, we can treat this matter as we do all the other things in Life that we cannot understand. We can accept it by faith and let it bring meaning to those aspects of Life that concern us the most.
Now, one problem which concerns all of us is the nature of Life itself. Scientists can tell us many things about it. Our knowledge can improve it and make it easier. But the true nature of our Life here is still a mystery. If we turn to the Scriptures for an answer, we can also learn about Life:
Job 8:9 describes it as a shadow, and Job 7:7 as a breath.
Job 7:6 says it moves as quickly as a weaver’s shuttle.
Isaiah 40:6-7 says Life is a flower that blooms but immediately fades like the grass that grows and begins to wither.
Yes, all these speak of the brevity, the shortness of Life, but none explain its true nature. But, we gain a new understanding when we view Life concerning the Resurrection.
Life is something more than our brief span here on earth. Back in the beginning, when God first brought man into being, the Bible says that he breathed into man the breath of Life, and man became a living soul.
Something within man partakes in the very Life of God. A man may live in this world but possesses something of eternity. Thus, he can look forward to the time when he shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. Yes, the Resurrection may be a mystery, but it reveals to us something of the true nature of Life.
Then the other significant problem that we face is the problem of Death. What is this experience, this ending, which all of us must face?
Scientists can explain some of the diseases that overcome us or describe the changes in our physical bodies, but Death is still a mystery to humanity.
Beloved, only when we view Death in terms of our faith in the Resurrection does it take on its true meaning. Then we understand what the Psalmist means in talking about the valley of the shadow of Death with the home of the Lord beyond it in which the table is spread for us.
We can understand the Apostle’s meaning when he says, “We shall not all sleep.” Death is sleep, leading to waking in the glorious dawn. This is why Jesus spoke of His friend, Lazarus, as having fallen asleep in Death. Paul wrote of Death as an enemy destroyed in the great victory of the Resurrection.
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Thank you for reading an excerpt of Rev. Rocky Brown’s article on scoopusamedia.com. To read more of the article, “The Mystery of Death,” please subscribe to Scoop USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75.00 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital and Vizion) are $90. (52 weeks/1 year)
