I had a sobering moment this week! Let me set it up for you.
In Psalm 90:12 it is written, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” It is then written in Ecc 7:1-2, “The day of death (is better) than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” It is also written in Psalm 139:16, “In Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me (birth and death), when as yet there was none of them.”
Then I know Paul wrote, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” In the same context he said if he could choose, he’d rather be with Jesus than go on living in the body.
I get it that this life is not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us once we pass from this life to the next where Jesus is. Still… I think I’m like most other people, thinking about the day my life ends isn’t one of my favorite thought experiments. Now for the sobering moment…
My mom purchased the headstone for her grave this week. My wife and I will be buried close by and our headstone is on the reverse of my mom’s. Once we chose what we wanted, the funeral director printed out what it would look like… and then I had my sobering moment… I saw my tombstone…!
Seeing my name and that of my wife… ON A TOMBSTONE… made me remember that day IS coming. Sooner or later, unless Jesus comes back first, I will die (And so will you). It was then that certain passages started taking on a new meaning (See above). In short… seeing my tombstone weirded me out briefly.
The Puritans had a saying intended to encourage living life to it fullest with joy each day… “Remember death.” It’s coming… so live life with an eye to eternity. It’s coming… so don’t leave anything undone. It’s coming… so glorify God every chance you get.
This was very powerful. I have problems with death.
“The day of death is better than the day of birth.” Ohhh, I so want to meet my Dad that I never knew and also all of my loved ones …will this be instant once the Death Angel takes me into the sky?
You are normal to have “problems” with death. What is good for believers is that death holds no fear. The reason is because physical death is the way to see God face to face! As it is written in Philippians 1, “To live is Christ… to die IS GAIN.” When a person dies, they immediately wake up where they will spend eternity (See Luke 16). Those who believe in Christ are with God. Those who have not trusted Christ for salvation wake up in hell. As it is written, “It is appointed unto man once to die. And after this the judgment.”
I love the verse, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the passing of His saints” Psalm 116:15. The Lord is happy when we come home. Amen! That is such a comfort to me plus the verses you shared. We are so thankful for you and your family.