You are dying. I am dying. We are dying. No matter how uncomfortable it is to think about death, the reality is that we are all dying. This is why Benjamin Franklin went on record saying, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” Even the Scriptures tell us death is certain in Hebrews 9:27, “and just as it is appointed for man to die once”. The real question is when will be the time of our death and none of us can be certain of that for only God knows the appointed time.
Death is a problem for us. A problem that we as humans no matter how hard we try can fix. God knows what a problem death is for us and has been working on a plan to conquer death since the beginning of time. Jesus Christ, the God-Man is the answer to the problem of death. Read what the Scriptures have to say about conquering death:
“When the perishable puts on imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then all come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your victory? O death where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 15:54-56
What Paul is referring to in 1 Corinthians 15:54-56 is the resurrection, a period in time when all of humanity will be resurrected physically and reunited with our spiritual/immaterial parts. In the meantime, those of us who have died are in the intermediate state awaiting resurrection.
Resurrection has to take place to reverse the effects of the fall when death entered into the world through consequences of the sin of Adam and Eve. Jesus is the answer to fixing all that. Death entered the world by Adam but victory over death entered the world through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12-21).
God made mankind to be a physical creature (Genesis 2:7). Death is not natural or how God intended mankind to live. The resurrection fixes what is broken in humanity, namely sin and death.
There is great hope in the resurrection. We all know there is something broken in this world. We do not have to look far to see this brokenness because it can be clearly seen within. We have all been impacted by sin and will therefore die someday. Yet death his not the end of our story. God has made plans to resurrect us to live forever! Yes, you read that right, we were created to be “everlasting” begins. We have a beginning but we have no end.
This life we currently live is not the life we will always live. We will live our the remainder of our days, die, exist in the intermediate state and then be resurrected. This resurrection life will be without sin and is something to look forward to for those who are in Christ. Read what Paul wrote to the Romans about what we have to look forward to:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. – Romans 8:18-23
The reality is that we do not have only one life to live. This life we live now is just the beginning. We have all of eternity to live after the resurrection. There is no need to strive to “live our best life now.” Our goal in this life should be to know the one who can save us. Jesus said, “The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him on the last day” (John 12:47). For those who have believed Christ will live their best life after the resurrection. Those who have rejected Christ will be living their best life now.
