Death

I saw this quote on Twitter today: “Death gives meaning to our lives. It gives importance and value to time. Time would become meaningless if there were too much of it.”

It immediately made me think about the tendency in our society to view Death as a “natural part of life” or even as a “friend.”

For example, much of the Harry Potter series of stories argues that Death should not be feared or avoided (this is one of Voldemort’s major flaws). So, in the little story “The Tale of the Three Brothers” found in The Tales of Beedle the Bard the moral is clear and simple: “Human efforts to evade or overcome death are always doomed to disappointment” (p. 94). At the end of the story, the hero accepts his fate and “then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life” (p. 93). Death is a friend. Nothing to avoid or defeat.

Now, of course, there is a grain of truth in all that. There is something about the inevitability of death that is an important part of our lives. We must not ignore it. Birth and Death are the great bookends to our lives and we must make the most of the stories in between. And the moral of Harry Potter, the same basic moral to “The Tale of the three Brothers,” is important and true: we cannot and should not work all our lives trying to “evade or overcome” death. It simply won’t work and ain’t worth it. In the world of Harry Potter, the greatest villain is born from a desire to outwit death (the same is true in Star Wars, come to think of it). It is simply a bad idea all around. And, so, death should be accepted. True. But only partly.

You see, what this strand of thinking does to us is shrink Death down to a mere “next step” in the journey or makes it out to be “an old friend” whom we welcome at the end of our days. But this is where the mistake comes in because it makes us forget that Death is an enemy to be defeated. But be careful here: the moral of the Three Brothers tale is true, “Human efforts” will certainly fail. You and I are doomed to die. It is inevitable. And if we give our lives to trying to “evade or overcome death,” by whatever means, we will become either villains or fools and we will write many bad stories between the bookends of our lives. But all this does not make Death to be a friendly beast.

Some of the best of all my good friends have recently seen Death in their families. Let me assure you, Death is no friend. It sometimes tortures its victim for years. Sometimes months. There is a sense of relief that pain and suffering come to an end at the end, but that is often only a little comfort in the face of a loved one vanishing. For this fact remains: Death is wrong. Death is an enemy. It is no friend. Listen now, don’t despair: there is good news. This is only the middle of the story…

Do you see the point so far? We must walk a fine line here: The basic moral taught in Harry Potter and in that quote I saw on Twitter are to be taken seriously. We cannot live in the fear of Death. That kind of life is no life at all. But neither should we make the mistake to view Death as a friend. Death is wrong, hurtful, and an enemy.

Hear, now, some good news: Death has been defeated. Not by you or me, but by the power of God in the Resurrection of Jesus and, one day, in the Resurrection at the appearing of Jesus to Earth again.

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.

~1 Corinthians 15:52-57

If we view Death as nothing but a friend or as the next step, then we miss out on the power of Christ’s resurrection. We miss out on the power of those verses in 1 Corinthians 15. We miss out on the victory over death.

And so we need not fear Death, though it be a vial enemy. For this most vial of enemies has already suffered a mortal wound – a wound inflicted upon it in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. That resurrection was the firstfruits. Ours will certainly follow. Death, you see, has been defeated. The sting is taken away. But not because Death is a friend. No. The sting is taken away because the Enemy, death itself, has been (and ultimately will be) killed.

At the End, at the coming and appearing of Jesus again to our world, these words will come true. Allow them to fill you with joy. For this is one of the greatest parts of the Christian story:

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

~Revelation 21: 3-4