Death and the End of a Year

2016 is over and reading social media posts over the last few days indicate that many of you out there are glad it is. Based on what I’ve read, it seems as if the proliferation of celebrity deaths in the final weeks of the year were the catalyst for the attack on the value of the entire year. I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much negativity at the end of a year as I saw this one. Death seems to freak people out, especially if it comes to the young.

The truth is death is part of life. From the moment we are born, we are on a direct path to it. Last time I checked the old joke is true, the death rate is 100%. But for some reason we believe that it should only come to the elderly or to those we deem wicked and deserving. I heard the word “karma” a lot this past year. It seems people want others to get “what’s coming to them.” But apparently if you can sing or act in a movie people think you automatically get a free pass from karma. We have no idea who most of these celebrities are. Maybe they all got “what they deserved.” Maybe karma finally caught up with them.

Or maybe there is no such thing as karma. Maybe God is real and maybe He is in control. I choose to believe that. If you call yourself a Christian, then you should be reading your Bible and believing what it says. If you say you believe in karma and you also say you believe in the Bible, then all of us should have died in 2016. The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” - Romans 3:23. Then in Romans 6:23 it tells us that “the wages of sin are death.” Karma or no karma this is the truth. Sin exists. Death exists. We are all going to die. In God’s great patience and long-suffering nature, He has given each of us reading this another chance to put our faith in His Son, Jesus, who bore the penalty of our sin. If we do that then we are reborn into a new life and the physical death we all face, has no power over us. The death of a Christian is merely the end of the old, sin filled tent we take temporary abode in that we call the body and it is the next step into the eternal world where we shall dwell forever with Jesus. Death should bring no fear to the Christian.

So, if the amount of death we saw occur is what decides in your mind that 2016 was a terrible year, then maybe you need to reevaluate your priorities in 2017. Maybe you should spend more time preaching the Gospel to the lost people of the world instead of watching people act or sing. No one is guaranteed a certain amount of time. The ONLY guarantee in this life is death, and the only one who knows that date is God. Job 14:5 says that “Man's days are determined; you (God) have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.” Thinking that one can live out his life and then choose to accept God’s salvation in the end is a dangerous gamble. Because “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment”, the urgency to not only accept Christ is vital, but so is our responsibility to share the Gospel with those around us. Our lives must shine the light of Christ and demonstrate to the lost and dying people of the world that our Jesus is the only way.

Mourning is a normal part of life. Being sad when people die is a normal reaction, but we ought to search our hearts when mourning the death of someone we only know through their work in a movie or because we have all their songs on our IPhone. Why are we sad? Being a Christian does not imbue any of us with the ability to judge another’s salvation but Jesus did teach us that by a person’s fruit we will know them. Many of those celebrities passed from this life to the next without the cloak of righteousness necessary to enter in to God’s presence. Many of them will face a judgment much worse than the portrayal of hell that the world presents.

2016 has passed. We have a new start in the new year. People will die this year just like they did last year. We can make a difference. Turn from the worship of celebrities and offer all your worship to God. Pray for your favorite singer, actor, and sports star. Maybe take time to write them a letter and in that letter, share your faith and your testimony. But in God’s eyes all of us are just as important as they are, so reach out to neighbors, co-workers, friends, and even strangers.

Do not fear death; fear God. Mourn the death of the lost so much that it drives you to make a difference. Live out 2017 as if every minute is your last. It just might be. Forget karma. Seek the sovereign God of all the universe, the one who knows the dates and the times of all things, including your death.

God bless all of you in 2017.