A young business owner was opening a new branch office, and a friend decided to send a floral arrangement for the grand opening.

When the friend arrived at the opening, he was appalled to find that his wreath bore the inscription: "Rest in peace." Angry, he complained to the florist.

After apologizing, the florist said, "Look at it this way -- somewhere a man was buried today under a wreath that said, 'Good luck in your new location.'" [show less]

You probably don’t need to be reminded of your own mortality. Not if you’re like me. Well, maybe sometimes I do – and when I was young I thought I was fairly invincible, but now I know that death is omnipresent. It’s everywhere you look.

News, on television and in newspapers, tends to be dominated by war and accidents and dying. Once we pass middle age, I’m reminded of impending mortality each time when I look in the mirror.

So why then, this universal desire to cheat death? Life loses its richness when there is no risk, no final ending. Why live at all? Some console themselves that they will achieve a measure of immortality through their children and posterity. Others believe achievements will make them immortal.

Politicians and scientists are anxious to be listed in ‘Who’s Who’, or have street named after them, or be mentioned in history books. To them, this implies living on after death. Others dream of genetic immortality and hope for a chance to be cloned in the future. They forget that while the clone is someone, but won’t be them!

Philanthropists donate large sums of money, often to get their name on a building and ensure that future generations remember their generosity. Humans create so many ways to strive after a measure of immortality.

Filmmaker Woody Allen once said: ‘I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.’

He’s not alone in his wish. The quest for immortality has been a literary theme for centuries. Have you ever felt a longing to chase immortality, or search for the fountain of eternal youth? Maybe in ways other than trekking across the globe… Maybe through surgery or diet or just your mindset?

Age-old literature finds a contemporary echo in the enormous amount of effort and money we spend today to look as youthful as possible. But in the end, do we cheat death? Or just manage, barely, to delay the inevitable? Sure, we live a little longer than we used to… But what gain does that bring? But few, even in the Western world, reach one hundred years. In the Netherlands, only 1100 of the 16 million inhabitants are 100 or older.

cause and effect
Why is death part of life anyway? The holy bible tells us that death is the result of sin. And since every person who ever lived on this earth has been affected by sin, ‘death has spread to everyone’ (Romans 5:12).

One thing is clear: Man is mortal. We die. But one person is different – God. Only ‘the almighty God, the King of kings and Lord of lords’ possesses immortality. ‘He alone can never die’ (1 Timothy 6:15, 16).

Now, don’t get agitated just yet. Lots of Christians jump to their feet when they hear this statement. They argue that this isn’t the whole truth. Yes, they say, human beings die. But the most important element of who they are, survives. Man has an immortal soul. The body dies, but the soul—whatever that is—keeps on living and enters either heaven or hell at the very moment of death.

This is a pretty popular idea. So popular that most believers never stop to ask whether it’s true! Sure, some few passages in the holy bible suggest a divide between material and non-material components of humanity. But many bible scholars who know their history admit that, when the entire evidence is evaluated, this view is borrowed from Greek philosophy rather than the holy bible.

So what’s wrong with Greek philosophy, you ask? Well nothing, perhaps. Unless of course you really do want to know what happens after you die. Then, mere philosophy might not measure up. What if it was just somebody’s idea, and not really the truth? Wouldn’t you want to know?

the mysteries of man
Even though science has dissected the atom, much of humanity remains a mystery. We know about the human body. We know about medicine and physical malfunctions. But what do we know about how the eye got its complexity? What do we know about the fundamental processes of our bodies?

What do we know about LIFE?

Not much. We know there is a physical component. And we know there is a spiritual component. Human beings eat and reproduce, but we can also think and remember, hate and love. And these components can’t be separated. Yes, humans will keep discovering new things. But some of those mysteries? We may just have to be content not knowing.

There’s one mystery we can solve, though. The holy bible tells us that when God created man, he ‘formed a man’s body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person’ (Genesis 2:7). That’s profound. Like a kiss of life.

That tells us where life came from. But then where does it go? What happens when a person dies? The honest answer? We don’t fully know. No one has ever come back from the grave to tell us exactly what took place. Even the ‘near death’ experiences don’t shed real light on the mystery, for they are just that: near-death experiences.

death=sleep
If you’re looking for a metaphor to describe death, the best word I’ve found is sleep. This is the word Jesus used to describe his friend Lazarus, after he had died: ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep’ (John 11:11).

Whatever this really means, it indicates that death is a form of unconsciousness. It most emphatically is not a state of separation between a decaying body and an active conscious, disembodied soul. When human beings die, ‘their breathing stops, they return to the earth, and in a moment all their plans come to an end’ (Psalm 146:4).

There’s more to it than that. If death is the total end, there is no hope. Without hope, life has no meaning. Hopelessness leads to fatalism, replacing all faith and trust. But you don’t have to feel hopeless.

The phenomenon of death, sad and merciless as we know it, isn’t necessarily eternal nothingness. Final death, absolute and total void—the state of irreversible annihilation—is not the same as that temporary death which comes to us when we die after our short existence on this earth. That final death is a reality that can’t be reasoned away.

Everybody faces temporary death, but the final death can be avoided. Final death only comes to those who turn away from God and refuse the offer of salvation from sin and evil. Those who refuse eternal life. But you don’t have to experience that.

You are going to die. Just like I am. Someday. A long time from now. Or not. We never know what will happen tomorrow. The interesting thing is that even though we’re pretty much guaranteed to die someday, but you don’t have to stay dead forever. You can live again, after you die.

How? Those who respond positively to God’s offer of salvation – who turn towards God? Their destiny is spelled: L-I-F-E. Life, means you’re safe forever. In a way, knowing you have the promise of this life means you ‘have already passed from death into life’ (John 5:24).

immortality promised
So you and I? We’re mortal. But according to the holy bible, mortal humans can have immortality.

Paradox? Yes. We can’t cheat death, and we can’t stay alive through our accomplishments. And no, we don’t go straight to heaven or hell when we die.

The promise of immortality comes only when I turn toward God and trust him with my entire being. When I choose to believe that my ‘perishable earthly body’ will ‘be transformed into a heavenly body that will never die’ (1 Corinthians 15:53).

And just how does this work? How do you come alive after you die and turn back to dirt? After a few years, your corpse can’t even be found, unless you’re buried in a shiny coffin… So, how can you believe you’ll ‘rise’ again?

Faith.

You have to decide whether to take God at His word. History claims that Jesus rose from the dead, and He guarantees that you can too. If you have faith in him. If you believe.

Absolute immortality is only found in God. The immortality within our reach is conditional. ‘All who believe in God’s Son have eternal life’ (John 3:36). That’s pretty good news. It’s simple, but profound. And it’s free.

Miracle? Yes. Human explanation? No. But do you believe? [show less]

How do you typically view death? Does it frighten you?

Have you ever felt driven to make an impact on your world, so you’ll be remembered? What would kind of legacy do you dream about?

What deceptions do you see in society about death? How do you think these came about?

Will you accept the hope of eternal life that Jesus offers you, knowing that death is like a sleep and immortality is a gift from God at the resurrection?

Dear God,
Thank you for helping me understand the mystery of death, and that I don’t have to feel afraid of it. Help me to figure out the rest when I’m supposed to understand it. AMEN.

Words of the poet who wrote in the Psalms: ‘Seventy years are given to us! Some may even reach eighty. But even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble!’ (Psalm 90:10).

‘Those who don’t know God and […] who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ […] will be punished with everlasting destruction’ (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

‘The living know at least that they will die, but the dead know nothing’ (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

Jesus promised in no uncertain terms what his followers may expect. ‘The time is coming when all the dead in the graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to eternal life’ (John 5:28,29). [show less]

re:tell: Bits & Pieces, June 23, 1994, p. 4. http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/d/death.htm. 11 April 2006.