Death was something of a mystery to me as I child. And it continued to be so for many years.
The medical community can tell you the indicators of when a person is dying physically. Yet a person is comprised of three parts. You have a body, spirit, and soul.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12
All people die because of one man’s sin. The first Adam died the moment he ate of the fruit of the knowledge of+ good and evil.
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17
The day Adam ate of the fruit he died spiritually and in time his physical body followed. A blooming branch can be cut from the vine and live for some time. But soon death will eventually claim it because it’s life source is gone. So it was with Adam. He continued to function in the physical realm and even had children in his likeness. No longer children of life but children of death and destined to die.
“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:24
Why didn’t God just let them die instantly both spiritually and physically? Was it so He could punish Adam and Eve’s and children?
On the contrary, it was so God may give them a life unlike any they had ever known. You see Adam and Eve were created beings and they were given a life of their own. One they could enjoy forever, so long as they did not violate God’s word. Yet, God had a plan. A plan that would allow death to reign for ages to come only to bring the most incredible life into existence for all mankind to enjoy.
I didn’t understand this as a child. In fact, death so permeated my thoughts I didn’t know what to do. Often, I would hold my breath when crossing a cemetery to avoid “catching” death. That worked when I passed the cemetery on the city bus but walking across the large cemetery left me taking necessary breaths. Somehow, I could not escape death.
As a young person, I was a recluse and became fascinated with death. By this time my mom’s best way of comforting me was, “We are all going to die.” Although I grew to accept that fact, and I tried to see the “bright” side of death, I could not shake an impending force that was warning me.
I had known there was a God. Yet when the depression hit me as a confused teen, death seemed a welcoming friend. That is except for a still small voice that would say, “Live.”
“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” Psalm 118:17
God wanted me to live. He wants you to live. But this life He offers is not to extend your dying existence but to give you life. His life.
Unlike Adam and Eve who had received life as created beings but lost it and death ruled. You can receive God’s life and never lose it for His life is eternal. The Father gave you this life through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is His Spirit that lives in you. And now you are His to glorify Him in this body and in your spirit, made alive through Christ.
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20
You have God’s life! A life that death can have a claim to. A life that is filled with true love from a God who tasted death for all that all may live.
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:21-22
To GOD be ALL the GLORY
In His hands,
Ann Marie Moore
LWHseries.com – Know True Love
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