On Death and Beauty...

You know the thoughts that come your way when all the noise is reduced. The moment where it’s just you, the silence around you and the array of thoughts in your head, like a train station, with different flows of thoughts like express trains coming and going.

Lately, a train of thought has been delayed in this station.

It’s about death. Oh I think about it often, but it’s just been a packed train for a while now. Worth writing about, even if it paints a wrong picture about my state of mind right now, as only depressed people seem to want to talk about death these days.

This isn’t a topic a lot of people would want to discuss, it feels too spooky. It feels like when you talk about it, you somehow invite the evil reaper to kill you.

But it shouldn’t be a spooky thought. It shouldn’t be a train of thought laden with fear In our hearts. It’s a beautiful thought. Imagine a place where there’s no more trouble, no more pain, no more fear, no more pettiness, betrayals and mood swings, no more of so much. The other side of death is life. And that’s a life of bliss. Heaven!

Now this depends on your decision here on earth. Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior? Do you believe that He came to die for you and has forgiven you all your sins? It’s that simple really. Just one decision changes your outlook on a lot of things… like death.

Sometimes I feel like it will be easier to just go. To just be with Jesus in a manner that’s absolutely spectacular. But that’s a selfish thought. There’s a reason Jesus prayed a prayer before leaving the earth “I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One.” John 17:15 I had that scripture given to me in a season in my life, and I didn’t understand it, but now I do. Its selfishness to want to leave the earth when there’s so much in you, that many need to encounter for purpose to fall in place for them. God needs us on earth, as His light, as His flavor on earth. The harvest is many, but the laborers are few… there’s kingdom harvest to be done.

Am I depressed? No, I’m not. But I’m tired. And in moments like this, it just feels good to think about the after life, but not to choose to go because like Paul “As long as I’m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I’d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better....” Of course I’m not half as tired as Paul must have been, nothing even close to it, but we get the picture.

God wants us alive, “… I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life…” Deuteronomy 30:19

So I choose life as I gather strength each day to be and to do even more.

Life is beautiful; life after death is even more beautiful… there’s no need to fear it, and there’s no need to rush into it, but there’s every reason to live beautifully and purposefully as we await our transition into more beauty.

Death shouldn’t be a conversation we push away with fear, it should be a conversation like the weather, like the future… because it’s the door to an eternal future. I confidently talk about it because I know Christ, and I know where my transition leads to. I'm here for the long haul.

So what do I do in my tired state? I get over selfishness and rest in the greatest spa the world will ever know, the arms of my father for a soul massage, and perspective facials and sit in His sauna to unblock the pores of weariness situations and people may have caused.… “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30(msg)

God loves you, and He’s there for you when you feel burned out, alone, frustrated… rest in His love. His perfect love casts out every fear…. Including the fear of death. Don’t be locked in that prison of fear that you fail to live life beautifully.