The End

 Just like there are beginnings, there are also endings. Books have an introduction and a conclusion. A meal may start with an appetizer and end with desert. Movies start and follow a plot line to a climatic conclusion. Racers line up at the starting line and dash toward the finish line. The universe and planet earth had a beginning point at creation and is moving toward the end. 

Life has a beginning and an ending. People rejoice at the birth of a child. Families gather to celebrate the miracle of birth. Those little bundle of joys are passed around the room. We celebrate milestones along the way. First words. First steps. Potty trained. First day of schools. First ball games. Driver's license. Graduation. Marriage. Grandchildren. 

We love all those things. What we do not talk about nearly as much is the ending of a person's life. Funerals. Caskets. Cemeteries. Sometimes death is expected through long life or terminal disease. There are other times when it comes unexpectedly through a tragic accident or murder. Death is a reality many people avoid talking about. It is part of the process of living. Just like there is birth, there is also death. 

People approach the end of their life journey in different ways. Some fight death with all their might. They go into eternity kicking and screaming clutching to life with all their might to the very last breath. Others pass into eternity peacefully and joyfully. 

In ministry, I have been around death of infants, young adults, and the aged. I have ministered at funerals of complete strangers as well as my own mother. I have offered words of truth, comfort and hope where I could. I preached gospel messages at all of them. I am convinced many of those funerals were for people who did not know Jesus and will spend eternity in damnation. 

How will we approach the end of our journey? I know how I want to approach it. With faith. With courage. With joy. With victory. That is not a question I can answer resolutely at this time. How will I face death? I do not know the process of death for me. It could involve excruciating suffering. In that case, I hope I will still cling to faith in the pain and persevere trusting God in my heart until the last breath. I certainly do not want to get incoherent in the end and say things I do not believe about God. Death is a door. An entrance to everlasting life for those who trusted Jesus for salvation. 

Death is not the end for the child of God and the unbeliever alike. There is more after this life. Death is just the beginning. For the child of God, death is the beginning of everlasting life with a resurrection body. The unbeliever will also face the beginning, only that beginning will be everlasting torment, suffering, and relentless pain. Everybody will face one end or the other. Either way death is not the end. It is only the beginning of eternal realities.