#6 Ready to Die? Then You're Ready To Live

During the Lent season, the focus is the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.  Easter is the glorious celebration of Jesus rising and conquering death. 

Luke 14:34-36 says, 34 And He said to them (Peter, James, John in Gethsemane), “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” 35 And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. 36 And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”

Jesus’ humanity is so evident in verse 36 when He asks God the Father, that if it’s possible, to remove this cup from Him; the cup of God’s wrath.  Jesus knew that He would be in this place, at this time in history, but He still asked for the cup to be removed. He would not do anything that was not in God’s will. He had accepted the mission that had been laid out for Him. Jesus accepted to allow the wrath of God to be poured out on Him for the sins of humanity. He was obedient all the way to death.

Jesus knows how we feel when we are facing death. We do not have to face the wrath of God for our sins because Jesus took care of that for us when we accepted Him as our Savior, but we still have to face death; whether it’s the death of someone we love dearly or even facing death ourselves. Facing death is scary even when we know that we are God’s child and our eternal future is secure.

In the last 6 ½ years, I have looked at death, mine, my husband’s, my mother’s, and my brother-in-law’s.  Though I’ve not been a missionary like the apostle Paul was, who faced so much hardship for the cause of the cross, my faith was still being tested during my own cancer illness and subsequent trials. I will probably not ever know why my life had gone down a road I didn’t choose. I wonder what God purposed for me.  So far, He has not made everything clear but a few things are clear. The clarity of these things have been the cause for the joy I have in my heart.  It’s so hard for anyone to wrap their mind around joy through tragedy, but God makes it possible.

Since my illness, I have thought about death.  It’s almost unavoidable.  It seems that everywhere I turn, there is death.  It’s in the news, it’s in my church, it’s in my family.  Some people die from acts of violence and some from an illness. Some people die young and others at a ripe old age.  No matter who we are, how we live, where we live, we are all going to die, unless we are alive when Jesus comes for His church.  So, are we ready to die?

I thought I was going to die on the operating table.  I was ready.  Then, I thought I was going to die from a pulmonary embolism.  I asked God to let me take care of my husband, who was slowly losing his battle with early-onset dementia.  Regardless, I was ready.  I thought I was going to die from all the effects of chemotherapy.  I really didn’t think my body could take any more treatments, so I prayed and told God that I was ready. 

But instead of me dying, God allowed my body to recover, for a reason. I watched my husband slowly leave me.  I prayed for a miracle.  I know others prayed for a miracle too. But when his behavior became so unmanageable, the doctor said it was time for the hospital and then a nursing home.  On his last day on this earth, I had gone to my Bible study that morning before I went to the hospital to see Edry.  I did not think he would die that day and that was because our class teacher read the following scripture that caused me to believe that there was going to be a miracle of some kind.  Edry would have life breathed back into him by God.

Ezekiel 37:4-6, Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I Lord will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.”

When I got to the hospital with my family, Edry looked worse than the day before.  My brother-in-law prayed for him.  I played his favorite CD.  I held his hand.  A couple of hours later, everyone went home and I stayed with him. I read the Bible to him, sang to him, and cried for him.  I was making arrangements with the nurse to spend the following days and nights with him.  I had to go home and pack a bag for myself.  I was worried he wasn’t going to make it through the night, but the hospice nurse said that he should still be ok.  I wanted him to hold on a little longer. I didn’t want him to die alone. I wanted to be by his side.

I started driving down the expressway to go home and pack. The caller ID on my cell phone showed the hospital was calling. Edry died twenty minutes after I had left him.  I turned around and went back to the hospital.  My daughter and brother met me there.  Edry was ready to die after I had left. He held on as long as he could.  The nurse said that he most likely didn’t want me to see him go; that he was trying to spare me the pain of watching him die. That sounded like something Edry would do, always thinking of what was best for me. But I know that it was God that did what was best for me.  God breathed life back into Edry, just like the morning Scripture, just not in this life.

One week later, I moved into my parents’ home to care for my mom with my youngest sister, who was losing her battle with ovarian cancer.  I don’t think she was ready to die.  She tried very hard to hold on but the pain was becoming unmanageable. Hospice can be a very emotional and stressful time. There is the dealing with lots of medicines, managing nourishment, and personal care, just like what I did for Edry.  Then I saw Mom’s face that day and she was ready. I held my mom’s hand while we waited.  My dad, my youngest sister and her daughter gathered around Mom as she was slowly slipping away from us and moving on with Jesus.

A year later, I sat in my sister’s bedroom while we attended to her dying husband.  Like Mom, he was not ready to die.  He was strong.  He fought it with all he had, but there came a point that he could not fight it any longer.  I helped my sister, during the week, to take care of him while he was in hospice.  Then one day while I was home sleeping, I got the phone call in the early morning before dawn.  He was now resting with the Lord.

There was a sense of peace that came over these three family members. Their hearts said, “I’m ready.”  They were always ready, but this readiness at the very end was different.  I have said that I’m ready to be with Jesus but when I was dealing with cancer, I struggled with really being ready to die.  Did I do everything God had wanted me to do? Were there things I had to finish on this earth? Would God be able to say, “Come, good and faithful servant?” I’m sure I could get a lot of differing opinions on these questions, but these are questions I wonder about as I’m walking this journey with death being so fresh in my experience.

Then, I think of Jesus.  He was ready to die.  There was no question about that. He told His disciples early on that He would die. Matthew 26:2 says, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.” He went to the cross willingly for all humanity. The crucifixion of Jesus is a sad event but He did not remain dead. He rose from the grave and sits with His heavenly Father.

My family members are with Jesus now.  They have faithfully served the Lord, spread the Gospel, and have been a living example of a transformed life for Christ. What great joy there is in knowing that their story is not over.  Just as Christ rose and is eternally in heaven with the Father, my family is with Christ, enjoying the fruit of their labor for Jesus. The Master has said, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Matthew 25:21.  How great thou art!

I am ready.  Are you ready? Heavenly Lord, always keep us ready for when you call us to come into Your joy. Let us not be afraid to die but allow us to rest in Your promise, that from this life, we will enter into Your presence, if we have accepted You as Savior, as Lord.

John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”  Today is the day of salvation. Come to Jesus.  He takes away the shame and the pain and replaces it with joy and hope. He takes a broken life and transforms it into a useful vessel for His glory. There is nothing to lose, but everything to gain.

My Redeemer Lives is the perfect song for today.