On Death

I subscribe to TeamPyro's RSS feed, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a great article on hating sin there today. Not because I think the Pyros are in any way libertine, but because of how well they linked it to its consequence and to the curse.

The ultimate consequence of sin is death, and with it, the dying. A family friend recently "graduated," as my grandmother would say. I went to visit him in the hospital and was shocked at his appearance—it was the first time in a long time I have seen the dying so up close. It was a brutal reminder of the consequences of sin. The morphine had rendered him virtually catatonic, and while he could answer questions, I wouldn't say he was exactly responsive.

I think the Pyros' post today really did a great job of looking at death through the lens of Lazarus' resurrection, something I commented on when we studied John 11 in my Bible Study. Phil comments specifically on Jesus' sorrow (Jn 11.35), but it's interesting to me also that Jesus was angry (Jn 11.38), too.

The idea that death is somehow a part of life is in most ways antithetical to the essential hope of Christianity, and I cannot help but think that Jesus' anger is not only directed at the onlookers' lack of faith, but also at death itself. Death is no analog to life, no yin to life's yang. It does not somehow bring existence into balance. Death is the last enemy, and I personally can't wait to see it destroyed.

Go read Phil's post. It's worth it.