When you think about death, what emotions are stirred within you? Even if such an event seems far off, it can still evoke sadness or fear, which isn’t surprising. After all, life is valuable. Furthermore, the ending of life is rarely, if ever, peaceful. When people die young, it is typically the result of some accident or terrible disease. When people die of old age, they go through years of decreasing health and wellness. The ending of life doesn’t appear to have anything positive about it.
And yet, the Apostle Paul once looked ahead to a period of persecution and possibly death, and said, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy…”[1] However and whenever our end comes, it will be with some hardship and pain. But if we remain focused on serving the Lord, then we too can finish our course with joy.
[1] Acts 20:24, KJV