Death is an enemy. In the Christian worldview, it’s called “the last enemy.” Paul wrote, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor 15:26).

This piece has two points: 1) Death is inevitable and 2) For all who are in Christ, death ushers Christians into the very presence of God. Death is, therefore, to be understood as a transition into God’s presence. Why? Because of the person and work of Christ.

This past week, I ‘lost’ a friend, Mr. David, to death. Leukemia ravaged his body. Physically, his white blood cells were eating the healthy blood cells. He had to have injections of platelets–again and again. But eventually, even that was insufficient.

First, like you, I feel the deep pain of loss. But I do not grieve as those without hope. God is bigger than death. Through Christ, God has conquered death for his people. And God is omnipresent; he is as near you as the person to your left and right. Near to us in our time of sorrow. Know that in your bones. God is near. 

     Let us acknowledge the sorrow of this time. We know that God understands sorrow. Jesus wept at the loss of a friend. In John 11, the apostle John records that when Jesus lost his friend Lazarus, Jesus “was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” (Jn 11:33) and in verse 35, the apostle John records that Jesus wept. 

     Mr. David worked in the IT field for much of his career, then Disney in his later years, and was a “fixer” of almost anything. Prior to his civilian career, he was a U.S. Marine, and worked on helicopters. I knew him after he’d retired. He was a faithful churchman, businessman, and an avid traveler. He and his wife and their friends traveled across the country many times and have set foot in all 50 states. And their stories of RVing with friends made for many sweet conversations I had with them both. 

     When I was Mr. David’s Sunday school teacher and pastor, he was undergoing medical treatments, I’d always go to him and ask how his week was. He’d never complain. He’d answer my question but always end with, “I’m blessed. I’ve had  a good life.” I could tell he was in pain, but true to his nature, he didn’t complain. He eschewed the temptation lesser men might’ve had to feel sorry for themselves. And he’d invariably encourage me by saying kind words about my teaching and ministry, and we’d laugh and embrace. He was an encourager. 

     When I reflect on Mr. David’s legacy, I always remember him telling me of his peace. His supernatural peace. He did not fear death. Because he knew he’d open his eyes not in judgment but in benediction in God’s presence. Let me say this lovingly: Mr. David died well. Like Job, he knew that his redeemer lives, and he (Mr. David) also lives, because Jesus had prepared a place for him. So, yes, we grieve, but not as those outside of the gospel. 

     For all who are in Christ, death is not the end, life is. It’s a transition into the presence of God. Jesus, who cannot lie, promised resurrection and heaven to his people. 2 Cor 5:8 says that the believer, when away from the body, is at home with the Lord. 

     In his last letter he penned, the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim 4:7-8). 

     So, to the extended family, friends, and all who loved him, we love you and we loved Mr. David. We acknowledge our sorrow, but we also have the ultimate victory through Christ the Lord. 

     Let me leave you with this: If you are in Christ, dear ones, you will see Mr. David again. All will have been made well. But there’s one condition: be in Christ. Be in Christ and be made whole, be made well. I will see you again, dear brother. Well done. See you soon. 

Text: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise” (Pr 11:30).

Question: Who would not want to be such a person?

Reflections: The idea here is one of blessing other people by being a blessing, to speak the words of life to another soul, to point others to fruitfulness and bounty rather than tearing others down and leaving them devoid of rescue and the hope of redemption.

A similar thought occurs in Daniel 12:3: “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

In the picture above, the tree is in bloom. It shouts life. It shouts health. It trumpets beauty and vitality. Who would not want to be a vessel of such a message? That is, who would not long to be part of God’s plan to rescue and restore people to spiritual health? Those who hate God and hate redemption. Those who are anti-life.

This is why the Christian is outward-focused. He has tasted the water of life; therefore, he longs to pay that forward. As the old cliche goes, it’s one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. The bread of life (Jesus) has come down as the manna from heaven to feed the hungry souls of men.

We are wise when we do this, when we are diligent to sow the seeds of the gospel. Pray that God tills the soil of the heart. May we long to see trees of life because of the great work of the triune God. The author of life died upon a tree in Jerusalem and was raised imperishable and undefiled three days later to show us that death for the believer is to meet God face to face and not be condemned. May we speak the words of life to all and pray for God to grant eyes and ears to see that eternal life awaits.

Recently I completed another reading of the 150 psalms in Scripture. Psalms come in myriad genres. Below are some of those types:

• Prophetic
• Royal
• Messianic
• Celebration
• Lament
• Wisdom
• Worship

There are other types, too, but those are some of the most common.

I was struck particularly by some verses from Psalm 145 recently:

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ The Lord preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy. (Ps 145:17-20)

Several thinks stood out from these lines from David’s pen:

• The righteousness of God (v. 17)
• The fellowship with God (v. 18)
• The covenant faithfulness of God (v. 19)
• The salvation of God (v. 20)

Because I’m burdened for those who remain hostile to God, because I want to reach them with the good news of the gospel, I try to always understand their worldview. I think, for example, of how a person who rejects God deals with the reality of cancer or loss or divorce. As a person who believes God and believes these biblical attributes of God described above, I am promised the righteousness of God, fellowship with God, God’s fidelity to his covenant promises, and the salvation of God.

But the unbeliever who rejects these truths, where does he find hope? In psychological pep-talks? In bubblegum bromides? In horoscopes? In sundry forms of escape and endless distraction?

God’s nature is characterized by covenant faithfulness. God cannot lie. Unlike sinners, God cannot lie. That is crucial to understand. And it is a truth that brings the believer solace of soul. In a world drowning in deceptions, the balm from Gilead is covenant faithfulness found only in God, a salve for the pilgrim’s soul.

Coherence is an important word and idea. It denotes the degree to which something holds together. Is something logical? Does it hold together? Is it internally consistent? Does it correspond to the way things actually are? For example, if I say, “It’s sunny today in Atlanta,” but then you open your door and look outside and there’s a thunderstorm, the sky is darkened by ominous clouds, and there’s nothing but rain as far as you can see, well, then my statement does not cohere. It does not accurately reflect the way things are in reality. It does not correspond to reality.

Coherence is one of the tests for the trustworthiness of Scripture. God is holy; God cannot, therefore, lie. When God speaks, his Word is true. So when God said that all men everywhere are to repent and flee to the gospel of Christ Jesus to escape holy judgment, that word from God is true: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man [Jesus] whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). 

God’s Word coheres. It holds together. It accurately expresses the way God is, the way we creatures are, and the way the world is. God does not say one thing and do another. He is internally consistent. His nature, his Word, and his covenants are trustworthy. This is why the resurrection of Jesus from the dead welcomes investigation. No one has produced the body of Jesus, and no one will, until God’s promise is fulfilled. You can count on Christianity, dear ones, because God is coherent. And in an age that is as intellectually vapid as our day, coherence is a beautiful treasure.