Cancer Blog #17
By Brian Zimmerman
Begun on July 31, 2021
Email: dyingman1@yahoo.com
My Dying Words
Entry #17
December 20, 2021
“Are you ready?
Are you ready to meet Jesus?
Are you where you ought to be?
Will He know you when He sees you
Or will He say, “Depart from me?”
When destruction cometh swiftly
And there’s no time to say a fare-thee-well
Have you decided whether you want to be
In Heaven or in Hell?
Have you got some unfinished business?
Is there something holding you back?
Are you thinking for yourself
Or are you following the pack?
Are you ready for the judgment?
Are you ready for that terrible swift sword?
Are you ready for Armageddon?
Are you ready for the day of the Lord?
Are you ready? (Get ready!)
I hope you’re ready? (ready, are you ready?)
Lyrics for Bob Dylan’s song, “Are You Ready?” on his album, “Saved,” 1980.
(One of his three Christian albums, all of which I enjoy listening to while exercising. The other two are “Slow Train Coming,” (the most famous of his Christian albums), and “Shot of Love.”)
Death is Not Value Neutral
I think for most people in the West who are not Christians, death tends to be seen as “value neutral”, i.e., you just die and disappear, and your body decays and that’s that. Like a beautiful leaf falling from a sugar maple in the autumn, your time is over and you’re done. No right or wrong or good or bad about; it just is. But, for the Christian, death is an ethical event, it is value heavy, for it is then that we face an assessment that is not only complete, encompassing the entirety of our lives, not just the parts we want seen, but just as important, it is final. There is no appeal, no reprieve call from the governor, no do-over.
Death is Value Full
The Christian, then, should lose the fear of death for the reason that death ushers in a true and perfect judgment, one that a genuine faith should welcome. Not because Christians don’t sin; we assuredly do. In fact, contra to “god is not Great,” Christopher Hitchens’ screed against all faiths, but especially Christianity, Christians are well aware and are embarrassed by the failure of the church to be holy as God is holy. But, to use that as an argument against Christianity seems to be on the order of attending an AA meeting and being astonished that it’s a meeting of a bunch of former drunks who sometimes fall off the wagon. It’s a support group for sinners, not a slap on the back group for all those who recognize their moral superiority. The Bible is a history of the OT and NT church being full of people who fail to live out their faith, even – may be even especially – their leaders (“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.” Acts 20:29-30, Pauls’ goodbye address to the Ephesian elders. Not exactly someone defending that perfection of the church, much less its leaders). Why then would a Christian look forward to death? If his life isn’t perfect, what hope is there? It is because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, whose death paid for our sins and whose resurrection gives us new life that has already begun. But, I think he who is nonChristian knows in his heart, and his conscience accuses him, of his many failures over the course of a life time. He rightly, then, fears a full and true assessment as he is sure he will be found wanting. All attempts at avoidance and rationalization will end. There will be no more pretending death is the end, or just another step in our cosmic journey as some may hope. Instead, it is a revelation of all that has been hidden from others, or hidden in our hearts, or denied, justified, or even boasted of. The lives of Christians and nonChristians will alike be examined. Christians don’t get a pass on judgment. But, our faith is paramount for the proof is in the existential pudding. Our lives will reflect that our faith was genuine and not a hypocritical statement or confession of word only. What is the difference between the scrupulous obedience of true faith versus the hypocrisy of an attempt at self-righteousness? The hypocrite attempts perfect obedience out of a sense of duty, an attempt to earn the right to enter paradise, an effort doomed to failure. But, the Christian strives to improve his obedience out of a sense of gratitude, a joy that he has been forgiven, and wants to live in a way that honors the Savior who bought him forgiveness at such a high cost.
The Final Separation at Death
The Shepherd will be able to separate the sheep and goats in the church, much less the rest of world, not based simply on words, but on looking at their lives (Matthew 25:32ff). For, the Christian, then, death has a momentous significance as our journey will be finished and we will finally know that Paul’s statement was true: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). There is a joy, then, that the Christian can have now in facing death, suffering, and pain, for we know that this life is not the end of life; it’s a precursor, a trial that has meaning, allowing us to rejoice when God decides we have reached its conclusion. But, for the nonChristian, death will be and should be a time of fear and worry; beyond death there is no hope. But, even the thief on the cross found words of comfort from a Savior who was hanging on the same instrument of a very cruel death (Luke 23:42-43). It is never too late until death finally arrives. There is always hope if we will repent and believe, if we will change and submit in obedience to Him, putting our life as well as our death in His hands.
Next entry: Surprise! A positive view of death.