Everybody wants to go to Heaven…

…but nobody wants to die.

I lost a good friend today.  His death came unexpectedly and he leaves behind a wonderful wife and two beautiful children.  Over the past several months I was blessed to have reconnected with my friend through a business relationship.  He was one of those guys I could go years without talking to and then when we ran into each other it was like we had never been apart.  In our late teens and early twenties basketball was our first, and second love.  When we reconnected this past winter, almost 30 years since we played our last 1 on 1 basketball game against each other, we found not much had changed because we still had the same first and second love.  Except now it was the Lord and our families. 

I know my friend steered many people to my EagleLaunch website over the past several months and I felt it fitting to share some scripture about physical death and resurrected life through Jesus Christ.  Death sucks and it is something God does not allow man to understand.  I have the feeling God keeps the “Why’s?” of death a secret because if we knew the who, what, why, when and where’s…what would our faith be worth?  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  (Hebrews 11:1)

My way of handling death, especially the kind that is tragic and unexpected like this is to simply try my best to accept the fact that God does not view death the way we do.  When you read the scripture verses below you can tell God views death as nothing more than a step in eternal life.

Philippians 1:20-21; “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

1 Corinthians 15:55-57; “Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 14:8; “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.  So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

John 3:16; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Luke 23:43; “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Romans 6:23; “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Ecclesiastes 7:1; “A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.”

1 Peter 1:10-11; “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.  For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 

Skip and I used to have some “epic” 1 on 1 basketball games.  We would literally beat the crap out of each other but it never got in the way of our friendship.  When we reconnected this past winter we laughed and joked about those days of playing the game we loved.  I thought I won most of the games and he thought he won most of the games. 

Today I know Skip beat me in the most important game in life.  He beat me to paradise.

For me, I’m going to hang onto the words of God in the scripture verses above and believe for my friend Skip, “the day of death is indeed better than the day of birth.”

P.E.A.C.E.

jay@eaglelaunch.com