“Is it a sin to feel fearful about being separated from our loved ones when we die?”
“Well,” I started to reply in our summer study group, “I think it’s kind of like anger: you can feel it and not sin. The question is, do you feel it all the time? Does it control you? Revelation 21:8 mentions the cowardly in the second death, but I John 4 says ‘perfect love casts out fear.’”
My daughter’s small hand shot up to comment. Rachel, age 7, was listening intently as she sat with us. Surprised and amused by her participation, I called on her.
“Well,” Rachel began, mimicking her daddy’s speech patterns, “after we die, we’ll raise from the dead and get to be together again in Heaven, so we don’t need to be afraid.”
I could have cried. We’ve had to talk to her about death several times in the past two years. Ian Drucker. My “Mamaw” Olive Burns. Ken Thompson. Ashley’s great- “Papaw” Dennis and “Papaw” Richard Deem. Each time, we sat down teary-eyed to explain why we wouldn’t see them anymore. About how it was okay to be sad. About how we needed to comfort the family. Praise God that every one of those we buried were faithful Christians; because, every time we also told our little girl about how we would see them again, wonderfully embracing and singing as we worship God together forever.
With all the innocence of childhood, that hope is real to Rachel. Somewhere when we get older, it seems like worry, fear, and regret creep in to take hope’s place. Considerably older than Rachel, the Apostle Paul found a way to keep hope alive. “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain,” he wrote (Philippians 1:21). “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing” (II Timothy 4:6-8).
Paul’s confidence was in Jesus. Every single day, he chose Jesus. As a result, every day mattered. His hope was real. So is Rachel’s. I want to be more like them both.