Are you afraid of dying?

The movie scene has been repeated too many times to count. A pretty damsel clings to a rocky cliff face. The sinking boat leaves hundreds facing an icy grave. The villain has a gun and is boasting of his crimes before the kill. While danger is usually defeated in a number of ways, the suspense and excitement we feel comes from an implicit, utterly human plea that we share with the characters: “No. It can't end here. I'm not ready to die.”

But will they ever be ready? When the foes are felled and order is restored, will these people be any more prepared and braver for when their time comes? Death is pending for everyone: on set and in reality, ready or not.

How do we overcome that fear? When I think about it, and then I think about what God wants me to do with my life, I do not want to die. There is so much more I desire to achieve, so I feel I’m not ready.

But when my time does come, I can know that I’ll soon be in heaven where my real reward lies – so I do not need to be afraid. My future is decided, and I will live for eternity with God.

How did I get this assurance? By simply accepting the fact that God loves me and He took the weight of my sin upon Himself on that cross, through His son Jesus. By believing He is enough to remove and defeat all the mistakes of my life, I have certainty that He will welcome me into His eternal home. Knowing that eternity with God is assured, the thought of dying loses its sting in the knowledge that there is something better waiting for me. When you make that choice, you will no longer have to be afraid of death, for your soul will be assuredly safe with Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 puts it this way: “…when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

That is the best reward that you could ever have.