Death And The Everlasting!
I still remember clearly the day my father died twenty seven years ago.
His departure left a horribly painful mark in my heart.
A mark so deep that I still remember every instance, every moment of pain, every agonizing breath he tried to take as his life withered away slowly.
As his lifeless body finally rested in the Hospital, somebody asked me to shave him, my hands were trembling, and my breath was shortened by pain, by desperation.
I took a towel and a bowl with water, then I held his skin and applied the blade to his cold cheeks, and as I tried to slide it I made a small incision in his neck which started oozing blood and it is as if at that moment the whole building had collapsed over my head.
In an instant everything became blurred and shaky, and I started screaming and sobbing, buckets of tears kept pouring out of my eyes and a giant stone was pressing hard on my chest.
I wanted to die at that moment; I wanted to disappear, just to make it all go away.
My heart was telling me it was over for him but my brain would not accept that, then I collapsed.
I had seen many people die before that day, many of them in horrible circumstances.
As a child I went through a civil war in my country of birth, and seeing the mobs killing someone with sticks and machetes was nothing strange, seeing a person being burned alive wasn't strange either.
I had seen the dead bodies piled up on the streets, or in trucks, I had seen people shot just meters away from me, I had seen death all over; men women, children, and to me it was very normal, nothing to fear or dread.
Yet I had never had a person close to me die in front of my eyes, especially not my father, I thought I understood death, I thought I knew how to deal with it, the truth is I did not have a clue.
It is one thing when a stranger or even a close friend die on you, and it is another thing when someone you truly love looses his or her life.
I was twenty five when my father died, but not until then I truly knew what death was all about.
We live our lives in such a disconnection from reality.
The world at large walks on this planet as if death was a thing which belongs to a different dimension, as if our flesh will never rot, as if tomorrow will never come.
And I think I understand why most people prefer to ignore such an inevitable feat.
Why most of us live in denial, rejecting the possibility that we get old and die.
I believe it is just fear, fear of the unknown, fear of confronting the question; a question which we all have in the back of our mind.
Many people do not even go to the doctors in their attempt to run away from the inevitable, others spend thousands even millions of dollars in treatments and surgery, just to delay the moment of truth.
Many others embrace strange practices and religious rituals in hopes to discover the secret to longevity, or to eternal life.
Many years ago I was engaged to a beautiful woman, she had been sent to me from God, and I was convinced that we would be together forever.
Since the moment I met that woman my life was transformed and only constant joy and happiness was present in our lives, she was thirty two years old and we were ready to marry and have lots of kids and live happily ever after, yet one day, suddenly, for no apparent reason, she just collapsed in front of my eyes and a few minutes later she was gone; the lord took her with him, He decided that her time was now and that she would be of better use in heaven, and I know today that He had better plans for me, but at that moment I screamed and cried and complained to God, I did not think it was fair that such a young life, full of vitality and energy, and with whom I had made so many plans could be taken away in an instant, without warning.
This time around I coped much better, I understood death and I realized it was part of living and something which happens to all of us, yet this head knowledge, and all the love I have for God did not make the pain any smaller.
Did not soothe the hurt and the momentary resentment I felt.
That happened eleven years ago, and I still remember Lorrie with pain and with love.
And although the extraordinary blessing I have received since then are just too many to count and although together with my wife and kids we live in the security of a greater love than any human being can give, and though we have peace in our hearts for we know death is not but the beginning of our lives, I pray to God intently and intensely for the health and long life of my wife and kids, and I hope each day that we do not get to see death before our Lord Jesus Christ comes and gather us with him, together, as a family.
But it takes faithfulness and commitment and a fruitful life to hold on to that hope.
And living a mundane life, filled with vanity and pride and greed and envy does not bring this hope to anyone's heart.
Most human beings today live for the satisfaction of fleshly desires, driven by passions and emotions and by the sinful ways which fulfill their carnal lust.
And the craving for such a deception blinds them to such an extent that they see as the enemy anything or anyone who would try to lead them to the truth.
And when someone dies around them they pity their family and send a postcard or a bunch of flowers, or simply celebrate their life with more of the corruptible attitude which stamps their hopeless walk.
And no one dares to bring up the subject of the afterlife, what is behind the black door, and those who raise the question will listen to anything which does not compromise their lifestyle.
The Holy Scriptures teach us in Proverbs 16:25, there is a way which seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.
And we are not speaking of the death of the flesh in this passage, we are talking about a death which goes beyond all human understanding, a death which lasts for the rest of our eternal life, a conscious death in which there is only retribution for the evil that accompanies our brief life on earth, a constant painful, agonizing death which never ends.
However, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us in John 5; Very truly I tell you; whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out; those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned And in John 14:6 He say; I am the way the truth and the life, no one can come to the father except through me.
There is a glorious joy beyond all human comprehension which lives in the heart of those who find the way through Jesus Christ, one which replaces all carnal cravings and satisfies all true human needs.
Let your flesh control your life and you will be trading an instant of carnal pleasure for an eternity of darkness.
Let your spirit control your flesh and enjoy all spiritual blessings from here to the everlasting.
Be Blessed.
Rev.
Jose Antonio Luna A servant of Christ Jesus
His departure left a horribly painful mark in my heart.
A mark so deep that I still remember every instance, every moment of pain, every agonizing breath he tried to take as his life withered away slowly.
As his lifeless body finally rested in the Hospital, somebody asked me to shave him, my hands were trembling, and my breath was shortened by pain, by desperation.
I took a towel and a bowl with water, then I held his skin and applied the blade to his cold cheeks, and as I tried to slide it I made a small incision in his neck which started oozing blood and it is as if at that moment the whole building had collapsed over my head.
In an instant everything became blurred and shaky, and I started screaming and sobbing, buckets of tears kept pouring out of my eyes and a giant stone was pressing hard on my chest.
I wanted to die at that moment; I wanted to disappear, just to make it all go away.
My heart was telling me it was over for him but my brain would not accept that, then I collapsed.
I had seen many people die before that day, many of them in horrible circumstances.
As a child I went through a civil war in my country of birth, and seeing the mobs killing someone with sticks and machetes was nothing strange, seeing a person being burned alive wasn't strange either.
I had seen the dead bodies piled up on the streets, or in trucks, I had seen people shot just meters away from me, I had seen death all over; men women, children, and to me it was very normal, nothing to fear or dread.
Yet I had never had a person close to me die in front of my eyes, especially not my father, I thought I understood death, I thought I knew how to deal with it, the truth is I did not have a clue.
It is one thing when a stranger or even a close friend die on you, and it is another thing when someone you truly love looses his or her life.
I was twenty five when my father died, but not until then I truly knew what death was all about.
We live our lives in such a disconnection from reality.
The world at large walks on this planet as if death was a thing which belongs to a different dimension, as if our flesh will never rot, as if tomorrow will never come.
And I think I understand why most people prefer to ignore such an inevitable feat.
Why most of us live in denial, rejecting the possibility that we get old and die.
I believe it is just fear, fear of the unknown, fear of confronting the question; a question which we all have in the back of our mind.
Many people do not even go to the doctors in their attempt to run away from the inevitable, others spend thousands even millions of dollars in treatments and surgery, just to delay the moment of truth.
Many others embrace strange practices and religious rituals in hopes to discover the secret to longevity, or to eternal life.
Many years ago I was engaged to a beautiful woman, she had been sent to me from God, and I was convinced that we would be together forever.
Since the moment I met that woman my life was transformed and only constant joy and happiness was present in our lives, she was thirty two years old and we were ready to marry and have lots of kids and live happily ever after, yet one day, suddenly, for no apparent reason, she just collapsed in front of my eyes and a few minutes later she was gone; the lord took her with him, He decided that her time was now and that she would be of better use in heaven, and I know today that He had better plans for me, but at that moment I screamed and cried and complained to God, I did not think it was fair that such a young life, full of vitality and energy, and with whom I had made so many plans could be taken away in an instant, without warning.
This time around I coped much better, I understood death and I realized it was part of living and something which happens to all of us, yet this head knowledge, and all the love I have for God did not make the pain any smaller.
Did not soothe the hurt and the momentary resentment I felt.
That happened eleven years ago, and I still remember Lorrie with pain and with love.
And although the extraordinary blessing I have received since then are just too many to count and although together with my wife and kids we live in the security of a greater love than any human being can give, and though we have peace in our hearts for we know death is not but the beginning of our lives, I pray to God intently and intensely for the health and long life of my wife and kids, and I hope each day that we do not get to see death before our Lord Jesus Christ comes and gather us with him, together, as a family.
But it takes faithfulness and commitment and a fruitful life to hold on to that hope.
And living a mundane life, filled with vanity and pride and greed and envy does not bring this hope to anyone's heart.
Most human beings today live for the satisfaction of fleshly desires, driven by passions and emotions and by the sinful ways which fulfill their carnal lust.
And the craving for such a deception blinds them to such an extent that they see as the enemy anything or anyone who would try to lead them to the truth.
And when someone dies around them they pity their family and send a postcard or a bunch of flowers, or simply celebrate their life with more of the corruptible attitude which stamps their hopeless walk.
And no one dares to bring up the subject of the afterlife, what is behind the black door, and those who raise the question will listen to anything which does not compromise their lifestyle.
The Holy Scriptures teach us in Proverbs 16:25, there is a way which seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.
And we are not speaking of the death of the flesh in this passage, we are talking about a death which goes beyond all human understanding, a death which lasts for the rest of our eternal life, a conscious death in which there is only retribution for the evil that accompanies our brief life on earth, a constant painful, agonizing death which never ends.
However, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us in John 5; Very truly I tell you; whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out; those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned And in John 14:6 He say; I am the way the truth and the life, no one can come to the father except through me.
There is a glorious joy beyond all human comprehension which lives in the heart of those who find the way through Jesus Christ, one which replaces all carnal cravings and satisfies all true human needs.
Let your flesh control your life and you will be trading an instant of carnal pleasure for an eternity of darkness.
Let your spirit control your flesh and enjoy all spiritual blessings from here to the everlasting.
Be Blessed.
Rev.
Jose Antonio Luna A servant of Christ Jesus
