It was years ago. I was a teenager, upper teens. I knew enough about death. As a pastors' child we often had to go to the funeral home, to funerals of family and church members. None of it was good. Memories, dreams and questions always go along with death. But I knew enough now, to not be afraid or scared, but simply to understand death as i watched my grandmother dying. She had been sick, she was up in years. the family had been called in to be there for when she took her last breath. She had been comatose for awhile, no words, no gestrues, no responses. Prayers had been offered up. Just how people pray in such times is a mystery to me. We are not so prone to accept the FAther's will, of that certainty I am sure. she was labroing for breath. We reason it would be better, gentler for her simply to be released and let go. There was confidence that she was a Christian, just let her go home ot heaven to be with the Lord.
As I sat there with my dad, we played 20 questions/answers. I watched her breath. 'When does the soul leave the body?' Oh, if only our eyes were opened to see the soul depart from the body. To see the breath of life leave the body to go back to God, Who gave it. There are enough Scriptures for us to understand these things. We may not be able to analzye it, definitely cannot grasp it all. But Scripture reveals to us the reality and certainty of most of this mystery.
the problem is that too many are scared and definitely do not want to take time to understand nor be taught. Satan also loves to keep us away from the truth. He will do all he can do rob us of peace and understanding in the Scriptures. Are you willing to understand? Are you willing to open the Bible and see what things God reveals to us about death and dying? And are we willing to accept His truth over the fables of man in regards to it all.
My grand-fathers died early on. My dad's dad, died before I was even born. I was a toddler when my mom's dad died with cancer. But my grand-mothers were around for awhile through my years of growing up. I got to know them. And as with all those that God puts in our life, they become a part of us. WE see them, we know them, we love them, we experience life with them. Memories come from these attachments of our lives. We remember faces, experiences and events that leave a mark on our persona. And then when it comes time to die, then what? WE don't understand this concept of life. WE don't like this concept of life, called DEATH.
There has been many beliefs, superstitions, made-up truths to cover over this reality. We try to find ways to deal with it, to explain it, to handle it. That is the essence of it all. We have to be in control, we can't stand not to be in control. Death is that what reality of this world that we cannot control. Heart attacks, cancer, accidents, disease, and one of the other 1,000 ways to die is normally beyond us. We simply must watch our loved die. We are simply left to deal with their departure.
and as for our own death, it leaves as much uncertainty. How much time do we have? How am I going to die? Will it hurt? What happens? and on and on we go with unanswerable questions about death and dying.
Most recently, with several friends having lost loved ones. (There was 3 in a row). Many were asking such questions. And as much as I have had to deal with death through pastoring, hospitals, tragedy's and what not, I am led to try to answer some of those questions in these lines. Let us begin with what death is and why it is.
What is death? Death, as we define it , in our comprehension and converstaion is when this life ceases to be. This life ends when we stop breathing. A doctor or offical looks at our stats of heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure and signs a death certificate. 'This life ceased to be at such and such a time.' In times of accidents, the cornorer states, 'confirmed dead at the scene.' At other times because of accidents or other issues, breathing is going on, perhpas with a respirator, but the brain waves are dead. In which case, they say, 'brain dead'. Regardless of the issue or situation, life ceases to be.
As for my grandmother, she had ceased to be the grandmother I knew. She could not respond, did not repsond. Yet, she was still breathing. Now, I have no way of knowing when God determines such things. There has only been two people who never died. Do you know who they are before I tell you? Elijah the prophet, and Enoch, found in the book of Genesis. God just took them to heaven, they never knew death as far as we know it, of this life ending.
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