about death....

What do you do with death? Do you accept it as a normal part of life? Do you avoid talking about it as if by avoiding the topic you might lessen the reality of it?

Rich Nathan spoke on The Challenge of Death last weekend (Feb 21/22) at Vineyard Church of Columbus. He suggested we each take 10 minutes this week to contemplate our own death. 

What would you say, what would you do, if you knew you were going to die soon? Would you spend time complaining about your circumstances or about the way someone treated you? 

911: Voice Mail
"I don't know if we'll make it out. I want to tell you that I love you and I love the kids." ~ Capt. Walter Hynes

"I just wanted to let you know I love you and I'm stuck in this building in New York." ~ Melissa Hughes

When I think about my own death, love is the only thing that comes to mind. I want to love on my kids - big hugs. I want to love on my husband. And, I want to tell those I love how very wonderful God's love is. I don't want them to miss out on His love another minute. His love is not just waiting for a time of judgement after death. His perfect love is what makes death the enemy of this life.

I want to live every day for something that lasts beyond me. Don't you? A hundred years from now, no one is going to care about all the cool apps I put on my iPhone or the posts I made to this blog (not sure anyone cares about that now). No one will know what clothes I wore or whether I colored my hair.

My name may be etched in a grave stone soon and never spoken again. But! If I pass on genuine love to everyone I encounter, that love will carry on.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor 13:13

Love is what matters if I'm aware of death so why waste time on anything else? When it comes time to die, I'm not going to be looking for that pseudo friend who insulted me or the stranger who cut me off in traffic. So, why let them bother me now?

If I knew I were minutes from death, I would do what many did on 9-11. I would pick up my iPhone and call those I love. Why? Because death is the enemy and the victor over death is love.