Articles
Facing Death
Facing Death
By Mike Willis
Sometimes life is difficult. Problems come to both the righteous and the unrighteous. Some people conclude from their suffering that there is no god, but the fact of the matter is that God provides us the best tools to cope with the burdens of life in the Bible. Having the tools to cope with sorrow is one of the reasons to believe in God, Christ, and the Bible.
Here is an example: A person goes to the doctor for a chronic problem, thinking the doctor will give him medicine so that he can quickly recover. However, the doctor examines the medical tests and comes back with his diagnosis: “You are sick with _________, and have six months to live.”
In such circumstances what does atheism have to offer the person? It can only offer this: you are going to die soon and that will be the end of you, just the same as when a dog dies. That the end of the dog. Some would soften the answer by telling the person, “You will live forever in our memories.” But, let’s face the facts: human memory fails as well. Think of those with Alzheimer’s disease who, though living, can’t even recall the names of their children. Think of the times you can’t remember someone’s name and then ask yourself, how long will people remember yours?
But Christianity has an answer that no other religion has: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. . .” (2 Cor. 4:16–5:2).
Only Christ can give us hope in the face of an inevitable or imminent death!
