Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

The Reality of Death.

Hebrews 9v27 “Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment … .”  (NIV)

We as a nation mourn the loss of Queen Elizabeth II and many of us will be watching her funeral on Monday.

Death is something we all face. Death is not the ideal of life God desired, rather it is something to be overcome. Death is hard: we only do it once; we don’t know exactly what happens; we don’t know what it will be like; and the process of dying can be traumatic.

The whole sentence quoted from Hebrews above reads, “Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

So while there is much we do not know, we do know:

• Who has gone before us ( Hebrews 9v28 ) – “Christ was sacrificed once”
• Who goes with us ( Psalm 23v4 ) –  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
• What we will face ( Hebrews 9v27 ) – “judgment”
• What the verdict will be (Hebrews 9v28)  “{Christ] will appear a second time … to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him”.

This is our solid hope, demonstrated in the resurrection of Jesus: our salvation will be completed based solely on the finished work of Jesus.

It is Christ-like to mourn at death (John 11v33-35). It is natural to have a certain fear of death (Hebrews 2v14-15). It is faith to be “convinced that neither death nor life … will be able to separate us from the love of God,” (Romans 8v38); and it is faith that enables us to live in the assurance that all the promises of God are “yes” and “Amen” in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1v20).

May God enable us to both live and die well.

With love and blessing,

Roland