Tags
I wrote this post earlier last week, before the terrible events in Aurora, Colorado. I think the Spirit Inspired it, and I pray that it may bring comfort to many.
I am still thinking through all of the lessons of Science Camp, and digesting what I learned while leading there. For Bible Study this year, the Chaplain decided to have the children make a movie of an abridged version of Pilgrims Progress. I confess to never having read anything but the Children’s Picture Book of this tome, but am inspired to add it to my reading list after last week’s brief look at it. In the last few days I have referred to the Dungeon of the Giant of Despair and wondered about what the Beautiful Palace represents.
I have also given thought and study to the river Pilgrim and Hopeful must cross to reach the Celestial City. When this part of the story was reached on Friday, several of the students became upset. They knew enough to equate crossing the River Jordan with death, and they didn’t want the heroes of the story to die before they reached their goal of the Celestial City. This view of death as an enemy is rampant in our culture, but as Christians, we have a different view.
Death came into the world after Adam and Eve sinned. In the perfect world that God originally created, there was no death. (When I was teaching this in Sunday School several years ago, one clever child wondered how God was going to keep the earth from being overpopulated without death, but this is something we won’t know in this life.) However, as believers in Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we have this promise. “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, … For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” – (1Corinthians 15:1-4, 22 ESV)
So for us, the fear of death has been taken away. Christ died the death we deserved for our sin, and gave us eternal life with Him! “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” – (2 Corinthians 5:8 ESV). When we die, the Bible teaches that our souls will be immediately in God’s presence. Jesus spoke of this to the repentant thief on the cross. “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”” – (Luke 23:43 ESV). This is a glorious promise! If we really think about it, and believe it, we can say with Paul “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” – (Philippians 1:21 ESV)
As angels lead Pilgrim and Hopeful to the river Jordan to cross over to the Celestial City, Pilgrim worries if the river will be deep and cold, and if it will hurt to cross it. I am sure that most of us have these fears of death for ourselves and those we love. But if we look to the Bible, and why the river Jordan is used as the divide between life on earth and life with our Lord, we may find comfort. In Joshua Chapter 3, we have the story of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, entering the Promised Land. To get there, they had to cross the Jordan River, which we are told “overflows all its banks throughout the harvest”. In other words, it was a big, wide, deep river. Yet as God had promised them safe passage and victory in the Promised Land, he held back the river and they simply walked across.
So has He promised us, through Jesus “”Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” – (John 14:1-3 ESV) Our Savior promises us a place with Him which He has gone ahead to prepare. Surely He will be faithful to get us safely “across the Jordan” to get there.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – (Romans 8:38-39 ESV)
And one further comfort- none of our loved ones who have crossed over before us would want to leave the presence of God to return to this world. They wait there for us to join them.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Diane