Several deaths occurred this week - former students, precious loved ones, and people beloved by those dear to me. Even though I thought I had a blog post ready to publish, I woke up this Saturday with other thoughts.
Hearing of a death always reminds
me of the necessity for all of us to prepare for this inevitable event. Death
is called the last enemy. The Apostle Paul reached all the way back to Adam
when he penned these words in Romans 5:12 …Just as through one man sin
entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all
men, because all sinned. The fact of our sinful state must be faced by all humans
desiring to prepare for the unavoidable, their own death.
Paul continued in this vein of
thought throughout chapter 5. In verse 19, the glimmer of hope began to shine
when he wrote, For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so
also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
The pinnacle of the chapter
climaxed with its last verse, Romans 5: 21. Paul reveals the only hope is Jesus
Christ our Lord with this verse, …As sin reigned in death, even so grace
might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Jesus Himself clarified that the
road to heaven is only through Him – not doing good deeds, not practicing
morality, not doing rituals, not an ideology or religion nor any other way. John 14: 6 recorded Jesus’
answer to the question posed by Thomas concerning the way to heaven, Jesus
said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.”
Paul explained about salvation in
Romans 10:9-10 when he wrote, …If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
Being prepared for death involves a
belief and trust that demands total commitment of oneself. I close with this vivid
illustration of what that looks like. I lifted this account from a previous
blog post called Death, the Unwanted Invader (https://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2017/02/death-unwanted-invader.html ).
A French aerilist
named Charles Blondin staged a frenzy-stirring performance over Niagara Falls
in the era just before the American Civil War. It would be over 1,000-foot trip at 160 feet above the raging waters of Niagara Falls. It involved Blondin and a
wheelbarrow.
But the illustration from
Blondin’s other feats that amazed me most was this photograph I located on the
Smithsonian Magazine site! It showed Blondin carrying Harry Colcord, his manager.
In the article written for the online magazine by Karen Abbott on October 18,
2011, she quoted Blondin’s advice to Colcord for safe passage:m
Look up, Harry… you are
no longer Colcord, you are Blondin.
Until I clear this place
be a part of me, mind, body, and soul.
If I sway, sway with me.
Do not attempt to do any balancing yourself.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-daredevil-of-niagara-falls-110492884/#W6Ho3F25UFCWIXdZ.99
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This mirrors how genuine trust in Jesus looks! I become one with Jesus as I love and trust Him with my mind, body, and soul. As I allow Jesus to carry me, remaining unified with Him, on the “tightrope” through this world, over its treacheries, I can successfully traverse this life, arriving safely at the end. Trusting Jesus is our only hope in life and death.
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