The Kindness of Death

Most of us think of death as a horrible, miserable thing. We fear it, hate it, try to stay away from it, and do our best not to think about it. Today, I took a group of girls to a cemetary to have them think about LIFE. Seems strange, right? But being in that cemetary for only an hour or so actually made us feel alive!

Have you ever thought about why God allows everything in this world to decay? Why does he allow everything on earth to pass away? It goes back to Adam and Eve in the garden. There were two trees--the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life was theirs in which to partake. They could eat freely of that tree and ANY other tree in the garden, EXCEPT the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Think about it--God did not want them to have the knowledge of evil! They were created as perfect, holy beings in His image and God wanted them to stay that way. But when they sinned and ate of the forbidden tree, their eyes were opened and they now knew evil. The tree of life, on the other hand, gave them life and it would have been eternal. After they sinned, God exiled them from the garden and therefore, forbid them to eat of the tree of life, therefore dooming them to death one day. Their bodies would eventually decay because of their sin. God GAVE them death so they wouldn't have to live with the knowledge of evil forever. He GAVE them death as a way back to what they once were--one with God.

What if we lived our lives with our death in mind? What if we didn't care about what people would think of us or worry about how our life ON EARTH would turn out, but instead worried about the eternal life we will have when death finally comes? What if we welcomed death as the passage into eternity instead of the end? So many of us are afraid of death because it is unknown or because we don't know where we will actually end up, heaven or hell. But if we live each day with our death in mind, won't we dispel that fear? Won't we be able to take spiritual chances and do things to bless God more frequently? Won't we be able to be more kind to those around us, not worrying about our pride, what we will receive in return, or any other earthly desire? Isn't that truly what "dying to ourselves" means so we can take up our cross and follow Jesus? Thank you God for death, for it truly is so KIND.