By Yomi OGUNTUWASE
According to Philippians 1:21, to die in Christ is not a loss it’s actually a gain.
With the recent death of the two men travelling with Anthony Joshua along with Anthony Joshua’s own near-death experience, has deeply shocked everyone.
I was listening to J. Kerby Anderson, a research associate with Probe Ministries, talk about his book Life, Death, and Beyond.
One truth he emphasized is clear: you and I are going to die. There is no escaping it. We’ve all heard the saying: “The only certainties in life are death and taxes.” Someone once joked, “Maybe death and taxes are inevitable, but death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”
The historian Arnold Toynbee insightfully wrote that man alone has foreknowledge of his coming death and, possessing this foreknowledge, has a chance if he chooses to ponder the strangeness of his destiny and to deal with it in a way worthy of human dignity. That’s what we’re doing here facing death head-on. Not denying it, but coming to terms with it and doing so with hope.
Death is the greatest leveler, reducing every human rich or poor, strong or weak to the same end. Sometimes it comes suddenly, sometimes slowly. Sometimes beautifully and peacefully; other times harsh, wrenching, even cruel. Whether it arrives prematurely or lingers too long, death comes. There’s no getting around it.
But for the believer, death is not something to fear.
On the cross in Luke 23, two criminals were crucified beside Jesus. One mocked Him; the other repented, saying, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.” That, to me, is true repentance. And I believe that thief is now in paradise.
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” He also reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:6 that as long as we live in these bodies, we are away from the Lord. Though our outward bodies perish, our inward selves are renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). We do not fix our eyes on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is unseen is eternal.
Job, in the midst of suffering, declared his faith with these words: “I know that my Redeemer lives… and though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:25-27).
I face death without fear because my peace is not based on my works but on His. As 2 Corinthians 5:5 says, God has prepared us for this and given us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee. Romans 5:1 tells us we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ has done, and Philippians 3:3 reminds us that we put no confidence in human effort but rely fully on what Christ has done.
Paul reveals in 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 that these dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever, but we will all be transformed in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds.
Philippians 1:23, where the Apostle Paul says, “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (NIV). He relied on what Christ had done and so was confident enough to say this. One day, the graves will open, pain will cease, tears will be wiped away, and our bodies will be glorified, we will be with the Lord forever.
When you attend a funeral, remember you are not looking at the person, only their temporary shell.
As 2 Corinthians 5 explains, you’re seeing a house that has been destroyed, not the soul that lives on. It is okay to cry, but not as those who have no hope. Because as 1 Thessalonians 4:14 and 16-17 assure us, since we believe Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that when He returns, God will bring back those who have died in Him.
The Lord Himself will come with a shout, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then those who are alive will be caught up with them in the clouds, to be with the Lord forever.
Death brings sorrow, and sorrow brings tears. Grieving is natural and godly, but we grieve with hope. That is why I can say with peace in my heart that my late wife and senior brother are in a better place, and I look forward to seeing them again. I know this for sure.
