A WORD FOR TODAY, September 9, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, September 9, 2021
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’” Revelation 21:1-4, WEB
Death hits us differently.
I was about sixteen years old when I had my first personal experiences with death. I probably knew people who died when I was younger, but I was either too young to remember or I didn’t attend any of the funerals. The first death I remember was the mother of a mentor. I didn’t know the mother but attended the funeral for the sake of my mentor. An uncle died a few weeks later. I wasn’t close with this uncle but did visit regularly and so it hit me a little harder. It wasn’t long after that when a very close friend of mine was killed by a drunk driver. That death hit me the hardest. She was my age. Her life was too short. She didn’t have enough time to accomplish the great things that she was capable of accomplishing. Her death also triggered fear. If she could die at sixteen, death was a greater possibility than I ever imagined.
I have had to grieve many people in the forty plus years since my friend’s death. Some were expected, like elderly relatives who were ill. Others were shocking. The deaths of my parents were the hardest, but no death is easy. Sometimes death takes a long time, which gives us time to get used to it. It is never easy, but somehow long illnesses give us a chance to come to terms with the loss of our loved one. Other times it comes suddenly, like my friend.
I have always had cats; pets teach us many things, but most of all they teach us about death. Six months ago we lost one of our cats. He was nearly seventeen years old and had been dealing with feline old age issues for some time. The day came when we knew we had to let him go. Animals do not show pain the same way people do, and sometimes we don’t even realize they are hurting. You can sometimes see changes like less playfulness or appetite, but it is hard to understand the cause. We all have moods.
Our elder cat’s death was sad, but it was a bit of a relief because we knew he was struggling. We still had two others, and though no cat can replace another, they had each other and we were a happy family. I was at the kitty store a few weeks ago and they had a bunch of kittens; each one was adorable. I joked with my husband that I was going to bring a few of them, home. It was a joke; we had a conversation about taking a pet break so we could have more freedom. We though, however, that we had a lot of years before we would have to worry about it. The two are nearly twelve and in good health. The girl was zooming around the house just a week or so ago.
She seemed ok even a few days ago but we noticed she wasn’t eating as usual. She was sleeping more. I noticed a change in the litter box. Then we noticed her breathing was labored. We though she was constipated. I called the vet and we were able to get her in immediately. The doctor took x-rays and found that she had fluid in her lungs. He thought it might be heart issues or a tumor. We could have spent thousands of dollars to understand what was happening, but it wouldn’t help and she would suffer. I went to the vet hoping it wouldn’t cost a fortune to unstop her and left without her. I never expected to have to put her to sleep. It hit us all so hard because it was so unexpected. We had time to say good-bye to our elder cat a few months ago, but we had no time this time. My husband and son both dropped what they were doing to be at the office with me and our kitty in those last moments.
Death is a consequence of our human frailty. When Adam and Eve believed the word of the serpent above the word of the Lord, death became a physical necessity. Adam and Eve were frightened by their knowledge to even be in the presence of the holy and powerful God. God was being merciful when He cast them out of the Garden of Eden and away from the Tree of Life. Death is the better fate than an eternity afraid of God.
Yet death was never God’s intention for His people. He wanted us to have life and to have life abundantly. He wanted us to live in His presence forever with all those He created to be our companions. Even though Adam and Eve sinned, thus making all flesh perishable, God overcame death and the grave so that we might live as He created us to live, in His presence for all eternity. Jesus overcame death on the cross, and by that cross we are welcomed into His kingdom forever.
Physical death is a certainty; we will experience death as long as we live. We will mourn over those who have died, but for Christians death is not a certainty anymore. In Christ we live even when our bodies die. We will shed tears of grieving in this life, but God promises us through John that the day will come when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there shall there be no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
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