Facing the Fear of Death

I know this isn’t the cheeriest of subjects, but we need to face the reality of death – roughly 150,000 people die each day in this world – as one person breaths their last breath, the next person breathes their last breath, then one day it will be me and you. In the last few years, we have been reminded of the reality of death, with news about COVID death rates, war, and natural disasters.

How have you handled these reminders about death? Because many people mask their fear of death with busyness, denial, ‘laughing it off’, medication, some with disbelief in the afterlife. But is it time for us to take off these masks that cover our real fears? Death is a fearful thing isn’t it, not just the process of dying, but what awaits us on the other side of the tunnel.

There was a man in the bible called the apostle Paul, who was in prison for preaching about Jesus when he wrote these words – ‘For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’ (Phil 1:21). Paul was facing the reality he may die very soon, so how could he be so positive and fearless about death? Paul wasn’t masking his fear, he believed what the bible teaches – that all people face eternity after death, and that eternity can either be eternal punishment or eternal life?

So, what can we learn from Paul about how we can face death with confidence? Paul hadn’t found a belief to simply sooth his fear of death, Paul had found the solution to the fear of death. The solution to the fear of death is faith in the one who has defeated sin and death – and that is why only Jesus can give us certainty about our eternities. Jesus took the punishment on the cross for mankind’s sin and died to take the punishment for it, but he did not stay in the grave, he rose victoriously over sin and death.

What does this mean for us today? If we have faith in Jesus, our sin and death can be defeated by Jesus, so we can then rise to a new spiritual life now, and one day rise with a new body in heaven, and we can be sure of this because Jesus has proved he could do this in history, by rising from the dead himself.

Are we masking our fear of death? The only true solution to the fear of death is faith in the one who has defeated sin and death. If you put your trust in Jesus, you too can face death with confidence so you too can say – ‘For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’ (Philippians 1:21).