By numbering our days, recognizing how short our time really is, we can increasingly cherish the good gifts that God gives to us today, such as life, family, daily bread, and our local church. The godly contemplation of our earthly exit also helps us to re-evaluate our ultimate loves and hopes, whether they are turned toward empty things that cannot profit or deliver, or whether they are fixed upon Christ and His promises. 

If you have ever had someone very close to you die, then you know how lacerating the pain of death and separation can be. A relationship of love and warmth, of laughter and familiarity, in the blink of an eye, becomes an aching void—and not all voids can be re-filled, even with the passage of time. The pain of loss can be a tyrant. But the Christian, though not immune to sadness and the harsh realities of life, is not called to despair and wither away in grief. Even in the matter of death, which all of us need to consider, God offers wisdom, comfort, and hope. So, according to the Word of God, how should Christians understand and relate to this unsettling universal reality?

Death Is Not Good

In the beginning, after having created the world and everything in it, God declared His work, His creation, to be good, even “very good”(Gen. 1:31). Contrary to this, through the disobedience of Adam, the head of humanity, both sin and death began its very bad reign over the created world (Rom. 5:12). Death stained this age with darkness and sadness where there was once beautiful light and joy. Humanity was created to enjoy communion with God, a communion of richness, fullness, and reciprocal, self-giving love. But sin disrupted this heavenly possibility, bringing instead an alienation that can only be remedied by redemptive love. It’s no wonder that the apostle Paul calls death “the last enemy” (1 Cor. 15:26).

The Prospect Of Death Can Give Us Wisdom For Life

Unless we are alive when the Lord arrives to close the age, we can expect to die. Our bodies will return to the dust, and our spirits will return to God who gave them (Eccl. 12:7). The author of the letter to the Hebrews said it best, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). But according to Scripture, this shouldn’t lead to despair or a paralysis of the will. Though our days are swifter than the Olympic track champion Usain Bolt, our brevity of life and impending death can teach us many things. For example, from our limited nature and perspective, we know that we shouldn’t be presumptuous with our life plans. Instead, as believers who understand that all things rest in the hand of God, we ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15).

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