Let’s talk about Death.
I receive a great many eMail messages from well-meaning Christians,
some of which seem to be permeated with fear. People seem to be
scared of everything today from one daily headline to the next.
Yes, even Christians. Some people are so afraid of death that they
won’t even mention it, as though to talk about it will invite it. Again
and again in Scripture we see the words, “…and he died.”
We have to wrap our minds around this truth about the most fearful
thing of all: Death. We must remember that Death is a part of Life on
planet Earth. Everybody does it. Even Lazarus, though he was resur-
rected by Jesus, he eventually died. Maybe he was run over by an ox
cart or fell down a well or died of old age. Point is, most everybody
who has or will walk the face of the Earth will die.
Some how. Some way.
As a Workplace Chaplain, serving those who work in Nursing Homes,
people who are surrounded by death every day, I’ve also ministered
to elderly people there who were terrified of death. I’ve spoken to those
lying in their deathbeds with families gathered around them and said,
“It’s OK to let go of your life. No one here will forget you. We’ll be
along before you know it.”
Inevitably, they die soon afterward. It’s as if they needed permission.
There’s a verse in Hebrews 2:14-15 that is quite telling about the
condition of the human race where death is concerned. The New Living
Translations reads: “Because God’s children are human beings—made
of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a
human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power
of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could He set
free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.”
Did you catch that last sentence? Jesus set us free because we humans
were/are living our lives as slaves, in bondage to Death. Many who
haven’t embraced this revelation, remain in bondage, even after years in
the Church. We must simply renew our minds to God’s truth about death.
If it’s a fact that we all die, should we give up on our ministry to the sick?
NO WAY! We know who it is that comes to kill, steal and destroy; it’s Satan.
If Jesus was busy about healing and raising the dead, and He said He came as
an example, guess what we should be doing as well?
A friend of ours recently died more than a year later than the doctor predicted
that she would. When we first spoke, I promised her that we would pray for
her until her healing manifested. She was faithful to drive 140 miles round
trip to receive healing ministry. Though she received a promising report,
eventually, she died, just as we all will die.
Guess what? She’s healed now! Just because life in the earth suit expires, that
does NOT mean life has ended. Rejoice! Once the “tent” wears out, there’s
more to come!
Many people, if they were told they had 6 months to live, might panic. How
do we know that the doctor who made that prediction wasn’t going to die
FIRST? While speeding to the hospital recently after hearing that a man was
in respiratory arrest, I slowed down as this thought occurred to me: “I could
die or get injured in a car accident on the way. What am I thinking?” Some are
fearful when their boy marches off to war. Truth is, there’s more daily death in
the “peaceful” USA than there is on the battleground. I’m not saying we should
send our kids to war where it’s safe, but you get the idea.
Be anxious for NOTHING, my friends!
Have you been given a death sentence by a well-meaning physician? Maybe
you’re being assailed by a demonic illness that’s stealing the quality of your life.
At age 28, I was told by my doctor that I’d be in a nursing home before I was 50.
He was right! The prophecy was fulfilled! I AM in a nursing home – several of
them - and I was 46 when I started going there. Only I went, not as a sickly
resident, but as a healthy Christian Workplace Chaplain.
Imagine that!
I believe that one of the greatest Christian witnesses that exists is the Believer’s
attitude about death. It has no victory; it has no sting (1 Cor 15:55).
So, have no fear!
In my mind, death is a time to be reborn-again, like a butterfly egg that becomes a
caterpillar that becomes a cocoon that becomes a butterfly. The Amplified Bible
tells us (Ps 116:15), “Precious (important and no light matter [costly] in the sight
of the Lord is the death of His saints (His loving ones).”
That’s us, folks!
Pass this message on to someone you know who is experiencing, has experienced,
or WILL experience death at some point in their lives.
Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
Workplace Chaplain
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