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2012-08-21 - The Gates of
Death
Part Two
Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given
a brand-new life, and have everything to live for, including a future in
Heaven (1 Peter 1:34 MSG).
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans
8:38-39).
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe
also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would
I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where
I am, you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." John
14:1-4
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we
die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.
Romans 14:8
In my last devotional, I talked about reading an article that described what
loved ones can expect when someone is in the final hours of life. I've never
been the person at the bedside. I have confronted the possibility of being
that person, though. I know that's not the same as actually going through
the experience. Its nowhere close, and to suggest any different would be
disrespectful to anyone who actually has. Facing that prospect had a profound
impact on me, though. Reading that article about what happens in the hours
before someone dies led me to think about those circumstances, for the first
time in a long time.
For a while, a few years ago, I was very close with someone who had a long-term
terminal illness. He was working very hard to stay healthy, but had already
outlived so many people with the same disease. It was beginning to take more
and more of a toll on his body. He was getting sick more often and staying
sick longer each time. His is the kind of illness where the person might
get sick and then bounce back, or might get sick and not be able to gain
back lost ground. That means he could live for weeks, months, or years. It
all depends on how sick he gets at any given time, and how able his body
is to fight his sickness.
We became very close for a time. I saw, first-hand,how he had to devote time
each day to taking medications and doing breathing treatments, to be as healthy
as he could be. Most people who knew him had no idea about how hard he had
to work to stay well. He was focused on living his life, and treated the
medicines and doctor's visits and other aspects of managing his illness as
something that just had to be done. The rest of the time, he was fully involved
in a fulfilling career, friendships, and hobbies like anyone else. He wanted
to make the most of his time here on Earth, and for the time he had left
to be spent on things that were important to him.
If we had remained close, the reality that I might have been one of the people
with him at the time of his death (be it sooner or later) was a distinct
and actual possibility. I'd been around during several bouts of illness,
and he trusted me as someone he could confide in, who didn't shy away from
talking about the realities of his life. He felt comfortable with me, and
able to be real and honest. I'm not naturally good with those kinds of
situations. Being there with and for him, when he was at his sickest, would
have been one of the hardest things I've ever done. I also think it might
have been one of the most rewarding, meaningful, and humbling things I would
have ever done. No matter what, I knew I wouldn't and couldn't shy away out
of fear or my own discomfort.
Long story short, he didn't keep me in his inner circle. He's still alive
(as far as I know), but I won't have to be there when he dies. That's a relief
in a way, but I believe struggling with the realities of sickness and death
in that situation brought me a lot of growth and perspective. I'm not the
same person I was before knowing him, and wouldn't take back the experience
and what it taught me. We've been out of touch for years, but if he contacted
me tomorrow from a hospital or sick bed, and asked me to be there, I would
still go.
When I was going through all that, and reading and thinking so much, I read
a lot about the meaning of the word "soul." Thinking about it with a Christian
viewpoint brought me a lot of comfort. My friend and I were both committed
Christians, and our shared faith helped us talk more openly and with more
hope. We both knew what really made him who he was was - not his body but
his soul - and that his soul would continue when his body could not. Knowing
that his soul was safe with Jesus, no matter what happened to his body, was
so important. We talked about the difference that certainty made, quite a
bit. He didn't want to die and was prepared to fight as long as he could
and to make the most of his time on Earth, but he knew Heaven was real, and
that Jesus had a place prepared for him there. That knowledge was such a
comfort for him, and for me, too, of course.
That knowledge still comforts me. Jesus is always with him and cares for
his soul, whether present or absent with the body, and whether I'm able to
directly provide care and comfort or not. God will take care of him and meet
his needs. He knows them better than I ever will. I don't know how I'll react
if/when I hear of his death, but I know God will help me through my own feelings.
I'll take comfort in the fact that I won't have to worry about where this
man will spend eternity. I'll know he is no longer suffering physically,
and that his soul has been freed from his compromised body.
We have to remember that how we are here on Earth is a temporary state. We
won't always be this way. There will come a point for all of us, where our
soul and body will disconnect, where the physical processes that keep our
bodies alive will stop. Our souls won't always exist in our bodies as they
do now, but they will exist eternally. The soul goes on when the body doesn't.
Its a thought we can run from or its something we can accept. Either way,
its true. Those of us who have a real relationship with the God who made
us, and the Savior who died for us, can have peace about this. We know our
souls will be freer one day than they are right now. We know what the Bible
says about Jesus conquering the grave, and having victory over death, and
how there is no suffering in Heaven. Our souls are not lost, if we have given
them to Jesus. This knowledge can give us hope and peace when we need it
most.
Carmella
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