On Death

"Where, oh death, is your victory? Where, oh death, is your sting?"

-1 Corinthians 15:55

I think that there is always a point in our lives where we become aware of our mortality. It is an extremely, extremely frightening thing. For me, it was about thirteen or fourteen. I remember laying in my bed, still not fully convinced that Jesus was God, and thinking- What if there is no Heaven? What if I just stop existing? What does that mean? What does that look like? All black? No, because color requires sight. And I wouldn't even have a brain to recognize a color. How can I possibly not exist? I could not comprehend it.

I still really can't.

And I would think this for a couple of hours, before comforting myself that I was, obviously, not dead yet, and wouldn't be for a long time. I also comforted myself by thinking that everyone dies, and I wasn't alone.

But here's the honest truth- we do die alone. No one can share this experience with anyone else- not your wife, or your children. It's just us. And that could be scary, I guess.

But I believe that Jesus has promised me eternal life. I believe that even though I take that last breath alone, the first breath in my new life I will take in the undeniable presence of God. And that is stinkin awesome.

I'm not anywhere near ready to die, don't get me wrong. I hopefully have a looooooong life ahead of me- tons of awesome opportunities, ridiculous mistakes.

But I am excited that, because I love Jesus, when I go to Heaven, all of those mistakes won't matter. My decision to follow Christ will be permanently fixed in eternity, and I will get to experience God's full presence. There will be no more pain, no more fear, or sickness. All tears will be dried, and all questions will be answered. I will finally be able to be who I am meant to be, free from all sin and imperfection that has hindered me. When I die, I will truly live.

Funny how that works huh?

Man, I don't want to die right now. At all.

But, as the wise Albus Dumbledore said,

"To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."