Death.
What is it …
… the end of life on this mortal plane?
… the beginning of the hereafter?
… the start of the last transformation?
Death, Be Not Rude
Death drafts behind Disease, Disaster, and Destruction like the second place car on the race leader.
Death dogs Disorder, Devastation, and Deprivation like a safety on a wide receiver.
Death tags along behind Famine, Pestilence, and War like a 5-year-old following his tween-age brother and friends.
But, the worst: Death is rude.
Yes, in the words (dare I say motto?) of mid-1970s NCSU’s Gold Dorm:
‘Rude, Crude, and Socially Unacceptable’
Death Interrupts Life
They say there is nothing like death to sharpen the mind. Maybe.
Death came to my family recently.
And it didn’t focus my mind.
Instead, I tended to stare into nothing, as my mind tried to grapple with life … and death.
Even when expected, death comes as a shock.
My mom.
My dad.
And, now, my sister.
Life is in the inhale.
A baby must first inhale before the first cry.
As when YHVH Elohim
breathed into his [the man’s – Adam’s] nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 NASB
Adam Red Ground Blood Life: ’Adam ’Adom ’Adamah Dam Nephesh
(Rather like the first CPR?)
In any case,
Death is not recognized with the last breath.
Rather, Death is revealed when there is no subsequent inhalation.
When we await the rising of the chest.
When we await the soft sound of ruach, of pneuma: – in Hebrew and in Greek, each are likewise the breath, the spirit, and the wind.
The moment lengthens … … until the truth is realized.
Until Death is known.
Death Is the Ultimate Life Interrupter
Death interrupts without the least care for nicety of manners, social mores, or even basic civility.
Death interrupts the good times, the bad times, the so-so times, the joy-filled times, the sorrow-filled times, the top-of-the-mountain times, the my-life-is-a-mess times.
Death interrupts where unwanted, invades people’s lives without regard for ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’
Death is no respecter of any person, position, or socio-economic status.
In his poem “Death, Be Not Proud,” John Donne directs death to not be proud. He declares that death cannot be prideful for Death’s touch is ultimately ineffective.
And that Death. Shall. Die.
Death, be not proud by John Donne Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die. Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud
FYI: How Are Thee, Thou, Thy, and Thine Used in the Bible?
The Curse of Death:
Life, Interrupted
Yes, recently, Death appeared and cruelly interrupted my life, and the lives of my family.
Death rudely interrupted the life of my sister.
Death rudely interrupted and took the life of my precious, ‘little’ sister.
Death rudely interrupted and ripped her from her loving family: her husband and her two sons, her brother and her sister.
Death rudely interrupted and snatched her away in the midst of the joy-filled time between the engagement and the marriage of one of her sons.
Death rudely interrupted and cut short her time to get to know, and to love, her son’s beloved.
Death rudely interrupted and denied her the chance to be a mother-in-law, as well as a ‘mother-in-love.’
Death rudely interrupted and robbed me of more time, more years of life, more of being with my sister.
My only sister.
Damn you Death!!
Damn you!!!
Damn you to hell!!
[Oh yeah. Thank You, Jesus. You’ve taken care of that.]
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14 NASB
But, then I re-considered…
I was thinking of Death in terms of me, my life, my loss.
I was preoccupied with my feelings, my hurt, my sadness.
I was focused on my grief, my sorrow, my anguish.
… and now I can say …
Thank you, Death.
What!
‘Why?’ you may ask.
Why would I ever thank Death?
The Blessing of Death
Death released my sister from a diseased-racked body that no longer obeyed her bidding.
Death freed my sister from years of unrelenting pain.
Death was a blessing, a blessing to her.
In Life,
- She lived by Faith and not by sight.
- She trusted her Savior.
- She obeyed her Lord.
- She worshipped the Father.
- She was led by the Spirit.
In the was, is, and ever-will-be of God-Time [not SpaceTime], she knew, knows, and ever-will-know, the revealed Truth of YeHoVaH, as given in the Holy Bible.
- Death precedes the Resurrection of the saints.
- Resurrection leads to new, incorruptible bodies.
- Incorruptible bodies are the manifestation of Eternal Life.
- Eternal Life has been, is, and ever will be, the joy and purpose of humanity’s creation – a creation made (bara’) in “the image of God.”
My sister knew, knows, and ever-will-know the infinite Love that is God.
In processing my sister’s death, I wrote my own sonnet:
“Death, be not rude”
If you would like a copy, please sign up below and ask for it in the comments.
God is Love
God is love.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Do you know God’s love?
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35,38-39 NASB
Knowing God
Do you know God?
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
God Knows You! Do You Want to Know Him?
Do you know who you are in Him?
Check out my series on Identity Theft, where I am exploring how our identity as a Christian is stolen by the (fallen) world and by our enemy, the accuser.
Identity Theft 1: Do You Know Who You Are?
Identity Theft 1: Do You Know Who You Are?
Identity Theft 2: Do You Need to Recover Your Identity?
Identity Theft 2: Do You Need to Recover Your Identity?
Identity Theft 3: Be Transformed – Recovering a Christian Identity
Identity Theft 3: Be Transformed – Recovering a Christian Identity
I plan to add one more article: Identity Theft: Prevention.
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As ever, if you have any questions or concerns, please ask or comment below.
Blessings,
TLThomas
© 2022 TLThomas
It’s ok to doubt, if you check it out!
Be a Berean!
10 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Acts 17:10,11 NASB