Eternity Eyes

"It is a poor thing to fear that which is inevitable." (Tertullian)

Recently I have been thinking about....well.....um.....ahhh..... death. Yes, death. If it seems a morbid or depressing thought please forgive me. But death has a way of bringing perspective and priority to living.

In a recent gathering of believers I confessed that the thought of dying was not pleasant to me. The finality, the inevitability, the process of death is disturbing. Yes, I know that death brings believers immediately to the face of Christ. In fact, I think it was D.L. Moody who said on his death bed, "...today is my crowning day."

Death has been described for the believer in Christ as a doorway, a pathway leading to heaven, a river to swim across (see Pilgrim's Progress). The end result enabling the forgiven sinner to approach and worship God. A wonderful, breathtaking and truly awesome event. To see Him face to face. Clearly, not looking through a cloudy glass. To shed the weight of sin once for all. To be free from this transient decaying body. To sing, dance, and worship the Savior with my whole being unencumbered by the effects of pride, selfishness and fear. Oh to truly live! To be who I was meant to be before my sin scarred my being. We experience this partially now. But completely then. What an experience that will be. And what a joy and hope and comfort it brings.

Then why does death bother me? Not only bother me, anger me. You see, it was never meant to be. God did not desire for me or others to die. He does not like it either. But alas, we do die. We have chosen it. It could have been the end - a future of hopelessness, sorrow, emptiness. How does one bear it? The thought of eternity in such a state? But the Cross and the Resurrection supplied my most desperate need. I needed a Savior. God, through His Son Jesus, because He loved me, provided a Savior. I don't understand such love. It overwhelms my comprehension. Yet the result of this love is clear: Death is not the end. It is, in a way, a new beginning.

Then why does death bother me? My vocation (that pays me a salary) is in health care. I have been in health care since I was a teenager working at a nursing home. I've been a nurse's aid, a hospital corpsman, a preventive medicine tech, a registered nurse working in intensive care and emergency departments and a family nurse practitioner. I now teach others what I have learned. What have I learned about death? It is a sad time. Crying and grief surround it for the most part. We miss our loved ones. We feel incomplete. As a practitioner I have often been at a patient's death bed. It has been a privilege bringing the believer to the gate of heaven. I cannot traverse it with them but I can comfort and assure them. They truly are "going to a better place". But not everyone chooses to follow Jesus. Their gateway.... well,....is not what they expected.

Then why does death bother me? If I died today I would be in heaven. I am assured of this. But my heart says, "No! I do not want to die!" Who would mother my children? Who would be wife to the best husband in the world? My heart is here... with my family. I do not want to leave them. I enjoy the beauty of the earth; the song of the sparrow; the flutter of the monarch; the scurrying of the squirrel; the happy buzz of the honeybee. I love the laughter of children, the joy of playing, the contentment of a warm hearty meal.

I have often said that I tend to try to make heaven here. But I remind myself that this existence is transitory. We have been given only glimpses of heaven. But they are only a shadow. C.S. Lewis once wrote, "Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind."

Lord, today help me see death through Your eyes. Help me to keep life in the perspective of eternity and not only for this brief moment. Help me to renew a heart of eagerness in sharing Your gift of salvation to those who's life choices will bring eternal death. Help me to see death (and life!) through Your eternal eyes.

Today's Journey Joy - Eternity Eyes