HE DIED THAT I MAY LIVE

 

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon he briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service.

With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. "A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific coast when a fast-approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore." He began, “The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized.

Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy would he throw the other end of the life line? He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he, also, knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves.

As the father yelled out, "I love you, son!" he threw out the lifeline to his son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night ”. By this time, two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth.

"The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend." Our heavenly father sacrificed his only-begotten son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept his offer to rescue you and take a hold of the life line he is throwing out to you in this service." With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room.

The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely stated one of them, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied glancing down at his worn Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face. He once again looked up at the teenagers and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up his son for me. You see, I was that father and your pastor was my son's friend."

Two Bible verses must have gone through the fathers mind at that critical- decision -making moment. The first, John 11:25-26-Jesus said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die”. The second, Revelation 20:15- “if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire”. By letting his son die in order to save the friend, he ensured both boys would be reunited in heaven.

In John 11 Lazarus fell ill, Mary and Martha sent for Jesus to come and heal him. Jesus told his disciples “Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I'm going to go wake him up." They replied "Lord, sleep is good for sick people. If he's sleeping, let's let him sleep” Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. Why would Jesus say sleep when He really meant death?

This is a common occurrence in the Scriptures. In Luke 8, when a little girl had died, Jesus said, "she has not died, but is asleep" (Luke 8:52).  In Acts 7, when the Jews were stoning Stephen, we read that, he fell asleep (Acts 7:59-60). Paul preached that David fell asleep and was laid among his fathers (Acts 13:36). The Bible refer to believers who died as being asleep because when we go to sleep at night, we rise up again in the morning.

Jesus said to Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” She said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe” Lazarus and millions of Jesus’ followers have died since.  But Second death which is the lake of fire (Rev 20:6, 21:8) will not touch them.

Of all the fears that plague the heart of man, none is greater than the fear of death. We are afraid to die and yet it’s certain that this life will soon be over. The earth that we live in was not made to last; it will soon pass away (Matt. 24: 35, Luke 21:33). Our life is a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14). Moses said to the Lord in Psalm 90:5-6, “You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning-though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered."

When we think about dying, we think we’re going from the land of the living to the land of the dead. But that is not true; we’re going from the land of the dying to the land of the living. Life after death is filled with mysteries that no scientist can explain, but for those who are born again it’s not all mystery; they know what the world beyond this one is like. The Bible states clearly where man came from, what he is doing in this life and where he will go from here.

In 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, Paul tells us wonderful truths that give believers hope as they look ahead to the end of their earthly journey. Paul says that believers have nothing to fear because no matter how, when or where they die, death itself cannot be bleak. And no matter what may be their physical condition at the moment of death, it does not really matter because the physical body is dust and will eventually turn to dust (Gen 3:19).

Paul uses a tent to describe our earthly bodies. The body is a tent in which we reside for a while; God will pull it down one of these days. Tents are temporary, flimsy and easily torn. He says that after the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  A building is strong and permanent. At death our tent will be replaced with an eternal body made by God himself.

Our earthly bodies sooner or later they grow old and begin to break down. The aging process is vividly described in Ecclesiastes 12:3-7. Our earthly body will decay and return to dust, but we shall resurrect in new glorious bodies (Phil.3:21), incorruptible and immortal (1Cor. 15:53-54).  When the curtain of this earthly life closes at death, we shall be ushered into Gods present (2Cor.5:8). Then for the first time we shall see God and Jesus face to face (1John 3:2), faith will turn to sight and hope to realization (1 Cor.13:12-13). We shall meet our loved ones who went ahead of us.  Death will not have the last word; it will not be the end of our story