Death

Death. Everyone has or will experience it at some point in time. I've come across death quite a bit in the past year. Almost a year ago now I got a call that I guy in my small got into a car accident and his 14 year old brother died. A few weeks ago a good friend of mine died while out of the country. And several weeks ago I went to a funeral for my paternal grandfather.
It's kind of weird how death hits you. Only with on of the experiences with death did I really feel a sense of lost. And it wasn't with either my grandfather or my friend. They both lived full lives I guess you could say and between them had a minimum of 38 years of life experience. However, at my grandfathers funeral I noticed some things that made me think. Of course, at any funeral there is going to be some sense of sorrow and this funeral was no exception. The ministers who performed the funeral really played it up also. There was the somber music of the organ, the reading of scripture on comfort in a slow monotone voice, and the stillness and quietness of the atmosphere. The preacher read scriptures in Revelation talking about how "He shall wipe away every tear from their eye and there shall be no more sorrow or death or pain."
What struck me was the sorrow and the grief. Some people wept quietly while others sobbed and wept uncontrollably and inconsolably. I thought to myself, "For what reason?" partly because I could count on two fingers the number of times I'd met my grandfather and because he'd been sick and everyone had to have known he was in his last days.
That's the thing with death though isn't it. No matter how certain it is, (an make no mistake, it is certain) we are still unprepared when it actually happens. While half listening to the preacher I began to think about the real reason why there is sorrow and grief, and ultimately death. It's because of the curse we are under. All of us. Rich people and poor people. Famous people. Blonde people. Black and white people. Christian people. Jewish people. Athletic people. Music people. On and on and on. Everyone, because of sin is under the curse. God had it planned where we wouldn't have to go through the immense sorrow over loss but because we wanted to do what we wanted to do, we got the consequences. Separation. Grief. Sorrow. Sickness and disease. Racism. Discrimination. Murder. Loss. DEATH!!
Death is ugly. Death is hard. Death is gross. Death is death. Back in the summer is was pondering my life and the things that I hold on too and I came to realize that if God were to ask me for my life I would have a hard time giving it ip. I don't want to die. I feel like to die would be to lose. That's why I had a hard time with the ending to the movie "Braveheart". He does all these great things and motivates all these people and moves mountains and he's and gets the girl. But then he gets caught and dies!! What the heck? That's not cool!!! He doesn't even get to enjoy all of his labor. After all, "he who dies with the most toys, still dies." Where's the victory and the triumph!?!
Then I realize that I hold on to this life so much. I suppose it's understandable because this life is all I've known. Yea, heaven is my home I guess but I've never been there that I can remember.
I begin to understand why it's hard to not only die literally, but die to self also. It's hard because we hold on to so much. That sin. Our selfves. Our future. Money. Clothes. Anything. Everything.
William the Wallace, and ultimately Christ, understood what life and death is really all about. William says, "Every man dies, but not every man really lives." And at the end, just before he gets his head chopped. William yells ," FREEEEDOOMMMM!!!"
That's the key. It's so hard to die because we hold on to things thinking somehow it will make us free. But it's when we let go of all things, even our very life for a cause. For the cause!! When we do that we really experience real life. The way it was meant to be lived. Like Jesus says in Matthew 16:25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.