I’m okay with dying.
I really am. I am ready to die; ready to go to heaven; ready to see my Savior; ready to leave behind the pain and frustration of this world. Now, I don’t believe that this is God’s plan for me at the moment although I don’t know these things. But if it were God’s plan, I am ready.
I don’t mean any of this to be trite or flippant. I believe this would cause pain and sadness if Jesus were to “beam me up.” I wouldn’t like it that my “going on” would cause grief. I am just saying purely on my end that I am ready.
Dying is not a problem, but “not living” is. “Not living” is my true concern. I can’t stand the thought that I would be here on Earth for six to eight decades and only pursue my life, my happiness, my joy and goals.
My heart aches to honor Jesus Christ, to bring him glory while living in this present evil age. This is why I don’t really want to die now. I want to redeem the time, buy up the opportunities that will never come again to have the light of my love and loyalty to God stand against the dark, tragic background of sin.
Once in heaven we will never paint again on this canvas. We have one opportunity to bring the colors of redemption in contrast to the black of darkness. Never will we have the opportunity to reflect the goodness and salvation of our God as we do now.
Never, ever, ever!
- Galatians 1:3–5 (ESV)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
So although I’m okay with dying, I can’t have that at the top of my wish list. I can remember as a young Christian wondering how great it would be to just die and go to heaven. Boom! Outa’ here. On to the blue skies and no pain and fear. Pearly gates and streets of gold …
No more opportunity to stand against the darkness.
Lost treasure sunken in the sea of my self-centered perspective. That is sadness and irony and foolishness wrapped up in one bitter pill. That can’t be.
Blessings gained or lost …
I treasure the moments to show my love without having my hand out for “a blessing.” What we call a blessing anyway, aka God making our life better regardless of whether or not he is honored. Oh, yes, we will thank him for the blessings, but will we thank him if he takes it all away to give us true life.
Which leads me to this.
To live we must die and if we try too hard to live we will die.
- Mark 8:34–35 (GW)
Then Jesus called the crowd to himself along with his disciples. He said to them, “Those who want to follow me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. 35 Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me and for the Good News will save them.”
You see, even if you win the end game with the world, and I am speaking of the “dying with the most toys” foolishness here, even if you could be at the absolute top, what would the benefit be of losing your soul.
And that’s what we give away when we pursue life as one not bowed before the throne of God. We get what we want but not what God wanted for us.
- Mark 8:36–38 (ESV)
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
