A good friend died this morning. Such events always make me step back and reflect on what God has taught us about life and death. This lady found out four weeks ago that she had cancer and today she is gone from us.
One of the first things I think about when I see suffering and death up close is that God is serious about the curse He has placed on us because of sin. Ezekiel 18:20 reminds us that the soul that sins shall die. I’m not suggesting my friend is a worse sinner than I or anyone else. We have all sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory. Even those of us who have believed on Christ for salvation have bodies that are getting older and will eventually die if the Lord does not return first. We learn from the Apostle Paul, “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:22, 23
I received the call at 6:30 this morning. “Roger, Eileen just died.” It reminded me of the time Jesus told His disciples, “Lazarus is dead.” But later He told Martha, “Your brother will rise again. 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?” John 11:23-26
That was the question that kept repeating itself in my mind throughout the morning, “Do you believe this?”
I answer with the man who cried out with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
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