On Life and Death

Last night at our small group our discussion centered around dying. Now, not to be grim here as it certainly wasn't grim there, talking about death really meant talking about why we want to live. Could it be that perhaps one reason we might not want to die is because of what we leave here? The people, the events, the things, the places, even the smells we can't take with us. Could it be another reason we don't to die is the simple fear of the unknown?

For me, the fear of dying lies in what I know I will miss here. The Hub and the children. Man, I want to be able to see them grow up and live full lives. Get married, start families, be successful. I pray that God has ordered my days to include those events. I don't have any fear about where my soul will go or how I will experience heaven, when my time has come. The thought of that brings radiance and joy to my heart.

For many of us, fear of death is in the trauma. No one wants to die painfully, or tragically. So, we all might kind of live a part of lives hoping that isn't the way we're to go. Truth is, we don't know. Only God knows the day or the hour. So what are we supposed to do here besides wring our hands with worry about how it could all end before we are ready for it to? Well, I suppose that's where faith comes in. Faith would be the very thing that keeps us from altering our life, or limiting our now-life in anticipation of what might happen, that in actuality, we don't know will happen. Yeah, we're going to die eventually, but the way in which we die is unknown.

Faith keeps us focused on God, not on the "what-ifs". Oh, those worry-full what-ifs. Leave 'em alone, I tell ya. They are huge stumbling blocks. If you can focus on God; focus on having faith (you know, the substance of things NOT seen) your focus won't be on all the possibles. Faith doesn't always make good common sense, but it does make good practice. I'm going to keep practicing.