I feel that God may be saying something to me about dying.
First, Jonathan preached on Philippians last night, about Paul’s positive attitude to death. Death, the ‘ultimate enemy’, has been defeated by Jesus Christ. We have nothing to fear because the worst thing that could happen is in fact the best thing to happen by far. A follower of Christ when they depart this life will be with Jesus.
Second, at home that night I read a poem by Mary Oliver that spoke to me about living this life to the full. Here’s an excerpt from the poem ‘When death comes’
“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it is over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”
Then finally this morning, in my inbox was this Henri Nouwen meditation for the day
“Praying to Die Well
Many people say, “I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of dying.” This is quite understandable, since dying often means illness, pain, dependency, and loneliness.
The fear of dying is nothing to be ashamed of. It is the most human of all human fears. Jesus himself entered into that fear. In his anguish “sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood” (Luke 22:44). How must we deal with our fear of dying? Like Jesus we must pray that we may receive special strength to make the great passage to new life. Then we can trust that God will send us an angel to comfort us, as he sent an angel to Jesus. “
I am hearing three messages: Death is not the end, live this life to the full and in dying, pray for strength and God’s comfort because both are there waiting for you to receive them. I won’t speculate as to whether these are for now or for the future. I just know that God is speaking to me loud and clear.
