No Fear in Death!

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. —Philippians 1: 21

The Bible tells us that it is appointed unto man once to die. That means you have an appointment with God—an inescapable appointment. How does that make you feel? Are you fearful of that appointment? Man has a natural fear of death, but that is because we are not sure what to expect. We fear the unknown.

**Because of Jesus, the child of God need never fear death.

The truth is, if unbelievers knew the reality of what awaits them after death, they would be more terrified than they are now. But if believers knew the truth of what awaits them after death, they would lose all fear. Paul, who was given just a small glimpse of heaven (2 Corinthians 12: 2-7), said that the choice between living and dying was hard, because he knew that while in the body he could glorify God, but that he would rather be absent from the body in order to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5: 8).

Because of Jesus, the child of God need never fear death. He came to save us from sin and remove the sting of death. With the sting gone, we no longer need to fear death. And so we have a win-win situation. “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” If I live, I live my life for the Lord and in fellowship with the Lord. I live to do His will. I have the opportunity to lay up more treasures in heaven. And when I die, I will live in His presence, in the fullness of joy everlasting.

Father, how grateful we are that the future is not unknown or uncertain for us but it is secure in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.