The Shock of Death

A little over a year ago, the Hubs and I were in another state, awaiting the arrival of our seventh Grand. Nerves, excitement and joy coursed in our hearts that bubbled just below the surface like lava ready to explode in celebration.

And celebrate we did! Following a very difficult pregnancy that was punctuated by threatening situations from beginning to end, we breathed deep sighs of relief and sang our thanksgiving to the Father.

Birth is so natural to us, clearly our expectation. But death? Death is unnatural. We stand in the face of death with mouths agape, wondering what and why and how. Death’s finality and foreignness shakes us.Why? We can tell our intellect that death is as natural as birth, but why does it still grieve and bewilder? #Death #Grief #ChristianBlog

Two days later, I was in our daughter’s local grocery store, stocking up on what we would all need as the transition from hospital to home was imminent, when my mother called from our home state. She was breathless and in shock as she told me through tears that my aunt had unexpectedly passed away. Smiles of jubilation faded to blank shock and concern for my aunt’s daughters as I fell back against a deli case that graciously held me up as I tried to comprehend the details rolling into my ears, but hardly sticking.

I had just been holding a new life, with all its potential and joy and beauty. And yet death stood in stark contrast with its finality, grief and ugliness.

In the next few days, tears of joy as I held precious life would intermingle with tears of grief as I would hear from my mother or my cousins.

This world. This crazy, beautiful, broken, mixed up world.

Birth is so natural to us, clearly our expectation, so celebrated. But death? Death is different. Death is unnatural. We stand in the face of death with mouths agape, wondering what and why and how.

No matter how expected, no matter how sweet the home-going, death’s finality and foreignness shakes us.

Why? When we can tell our intellect that death is as natural as birth, that no one leaves this planet alive, that it’s all part of life, why does it still grieve and bewilder?

We weren’t made for death. We were made for life.

Death is unnatural. We stand in the face of death with mouths agape, wondering what and why and how. Why? Because we weren’t made for death. We were made for life. It is only in this post-Garden of Eden, fallen state that death has become the impending sentence over every life. We were made for LIFE! #LifeQuotes #ChristianBlog

It is only in this post-Garden of Eden, fallen state, that death has become the impending sentence over every life.

Yet even in death, God is able to bring life. He defeated death and will one day do away with death altogether. Until then, He closely attends to the passing from this life to the truer life of His children (Psalm 116:15).

When my Dad passed nearly five years ago now, it was like he was birthed into heaven. The pangs of childbirth were upon us all as we watched him slowly and steadily transition out of the womb of this world. And just when death seemed to have its way, it was crystal clear that Life met him there at the shores and that we were the ones left behind as he entered into eternal Zoe.

Only such an amazing and wonderful God could redeem even the worst consequences of our unanimous rebellion against the Lord of Life. Only He could bring life out of death.

And He doesn’t only do this with natural life and death. There are areas of my life that look like death has won. Try as I might to resuscitate them, it would appear hope is gone. I’m sure that you have held vigil at the tombs of your own share of lifeless hopes and decaying dreams.

But if there’s one thing we know from the Word of God and from the Word made Flesh, we know He breathes life into dead things and resurrects them to new life. He breathes life into armies of bones, long bleached in the sun. He breathes life into exiles, cut off from their promises. He breathes life into slaves held captive and too disillusioned to hope anymore.

What will He do with the death you lay in His hands today?

“’O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’…. thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:55, 57

To read more about how the Lord brings life out of death, read the blog post, “The True Way to Grow” HERE!