I remember dreading getting shots as a kid. There was something wrong about someone sticking a needle in me and telling me to be brave. Sometimes they would say it won’t hurt, but it always did. As I got older I wanted to act like a big boy in front of the nurse and that made the sting a little less. Now that I am much older and I have taken hundreds of shots (in the military and Foreign Service) there seems to be little to no sting. I have even been poked seven times in a row, with an IV needle, when a medical technician had trouble finding a vein. Now I know the pain won’t be too bad, and it is for my own good, it doesn’t bother me as much.
The sting of death reminds me of those shots, but that sting can last forever. I can tell others are serious about death by their behavior. Even we know everyone will die, many people refuse to talk about it. The death of a family member can have a major impact on those left behind, so plans should be made for the funeral and burial. If family members are dependent on the one who dies, it is even more important to discuss what to do next. Unfortunately, loved ones are left unprepared, adding to the sting of death.
I see prayers posted on Facebook of people begging GOD for long lives for them and their loved ones, because they fear death. After all, don’t we punish criminals with death for committing the most heinous crimes? I have even heard of people getting mad at GOD for “taking” their loved ones. I understand grief and missing loved ones, but I think they missed the point of the Good News! Even if they died in sin, GOD sacrificed so much to try and save them.
On the other hand, people thank GOD for giving them another day on this earth and I hesitate to complain about their thankfulness. Don’t they know “For to me to live is Christ” and I am in this world for His purpose, but “to die is gain” (Phil 121:1 KJV)? Don’t they realize “that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord” (2 Cor 5:6 KJV) if we are saved?
But why would GOD take me away from my family who needs me? GOD can take better care of your family than you can. In fact, your family needs Him more than they need you! If you begin with “GOD is right and does right” you will come to the right conclusion.
The main thing you need to remember, GOD loves you! In fact “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). Yes, He loves everybody, but He also loves you personally and sacrificed His Son so you could become part of his family. To be “taken” from this troubled life into paradise, to live forever with GOD who loves you so much is “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph 3:20 KJV). That leads us to that wonderful question, “O death, where is thy sting” (1 Cor 15:55 KJV)? The sting of death was nailed to the cross, buried in a borrowed tomb and resurrected on the third day, in the precious body of JESUS CHRIST!
Wayne Lance