Death is the most overpowering of all subjects: we can go on with our lives, go to work, and have our fun, but death is always there. Just the title of this article, “Death: Not the end,” has caught your attention. You pass by a cemetery and feel uncomfortable; you think, “There are dead bodies there, and they were once, alive.” The bodies there were once living people: with families, lives, jobs, hopes, fears, and dreams. They ate, traveled, worried, grew-old … and died. How can that be true? How can a person just stop living? We know that they stop breathing, their heart stops, and then their body rots – but is that it?

God created life; he created death; he created everything – so why does death hurt and terrify us? It’s because death is beyond our control: with all our learning and technology, we still can’t stop it. It doesn’t matter who we are and how much power or money we have – we just can’t stop it.

Death disturbs many people because of its ability to humble us, as the rich, the poor, the good, and the bad cannot stop it – it finally makes us all, equal.

Death reminds us of how little we know, and how little we can accomplish. We can send people to space, control the weather, even kill the whole world, yet death is the same mystery to us now that it was when the world started. It humbles human arrogance. We think that given enough time, we will conquer all things and answer all the riddles of the Universe, but this is wrong: death will always find us.

You cannot escape it, but you can control how you perceive it, and how you react to it.

Christians and non-Christians react to death in a different way, as the Christian sees it as the final step into eternity, while the non-Christian sees it as a journey into the black unknown, the end – pure terror. Further, the Christian eternity is forever – it’s peace, relaxation, sitting next to God, and learning all of His wisdom, while the non-Christian’s eternity is nothing but one big question mark. The Christian sees death as his reward, and it’s the door that opens up to the magnificence of heaven, while to the non-believer, death is a violent and unfair drama that ends all things. To him, it’s a horrible time where he looks back on a wasted – or successful and happy life – and feels the loneliness and pain of having it now over.

However, the reality is that death isn’t a dark bitter event, it’s simply a gateway, and once we pass through this gateway, we enter paradise. Paradise is a word we use to describe the best possible place we can ever understand, but heaven is much more than that. Heaven is perfection, truth, beauty, knowledge; in fact, every moment in heaven is pure delight, and once we’re there – heaven is home. It’s a place where we will never get old, sick, tired, bored, sad or lonely – and, God, our loving creator, will be there. We will live with Him, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in total peace, forever. There will be vibrant and unearthly colors, textures, sights and sounds that in our wildest imagination we couldn’t possibly understand; knowledge that we could never have comprehended before; and there will be love – perfect love. God’s love. It’s heaven. Is heaven like a tropical sunset on a beautiful South-Pacific island? No, heaven’s perfect. Is it like a beautiful mountain-top or moonlit evening with a gentle breeze? No, it’s perfect. These descriptions – however beautiful – aren’t even close.

As people, we are naturally curious, and try to explain what death and heaven are like. As humans, we should be like a mouse. A mouse doesn’t look at the sun and say “Why are you round?” or “Why are you hot?” He’s just a mouse. It’s the same with us. You cannot possibly visualize heaven, or death; therefore, God doesn’t tell you much about them.

As mentioned before: heaven is not an end – it’s simply a step, a window, or a door – that leads somewhere. Whether it is scary or not is up to us as God did not create us to fear death. With all changes in our lives there is fear, but what follows is always natural and necessary. A lady fears having a baby, but when it arrives, she feels great, and cannot understand why she worried. When a person is in grade school he/she fears going to high-school, but then high-school goes great – especially if the individual joins a Christian group in school. The same is true with university.

Death reminds us that time is limited. If we thought that we would live on earth forever, then we wouldn’t get educated, work, or do anything. Important decisions are made if there is a deadline. Death is our deadline.

Real Christians say that when they die, they are “going home.” They don’t call it death. At the moment of death, they are relaxed in their mind and muscles, their blood pressure is low, and they have less of the chemicals which cause stress in their blood. They are at peace with their families, and the world that they are about to leave. They have no regrets, and no bad-feelings towards anyone.

Death teaches us of the meaningless of a life without God. In the Bible, King Solomon said that when we look at the dead we must realize that when they died, all of their hate, anger, jealousy, and sadness also died with them. He also said that education was meaningless, because the educated and the fool lie next to each other in death. The same is true of wealth and power. The richest and the poorest person are one day just bones in the ground. The great president and the worst criminal, all lie dead, together. Solomon was the great king and yet when death approached him, he was humbled by it. He realized that God, who controls death, controlled him too.

God allows death to be a great drama because He wants you to know that death is forever. You have to get ready for it.

People see death as a passage from what they perceive as the light of the known world, to the darkness of the unknown. Death is associated with a dark, creepy cemetery at night. For many, it is also associated with a path into the cold, black darkness of space. Instead, try this way to look at it. You are on a diving board in a totally dark, cold, room. You can see the outline of a pool under the board, you are freezing, and the water looks even more cold, and dangerous. Maybe there is no water at all, maybe its only two inches deep. The diving board represents the point of death and the outline of the pool represents death. It is unknown, cold, dark, and you feel that you are about to fall into something strange and bad. You bounce once, twice, and then you fall in – splash. You hit the water and go under: Surprise! It is warm, light, and really soft. It isn’t what you thought at all. The event you feared all your life was actually the best moment ever. I think that death is going to be like that.

If death is so great then why do we have to live at all? We are part of God’s perfect plan. We are in this life to test us and get us ready for heaven. Heaven is perfection, but before we get there we have to learn humility, forgiveness, tolerance, and yes, sometimes suffering. All these strengthen us, build endurance, and provide us insight into God’s purpose. Life teaches us these things. Death is a reward for those that have lived and died believing in Jesus.

People fear death because they believe that it is the moment where they will receive all the punishments they have earned throughout life. Rest assured: Even on the last second you live, if you repent (say you’re sorry for all the bad you did), and believe, you will be forgiven and get to heaven.

Death tells us we are ready for something better. The life we have here has much sadness, hurt, betrayal and loneliness. Take heart: it’s only for the moment. A second after we die that all changes, and we get an eternity full of happiness.

To see our death as a “nothing-body” in the ground is wrong. That body is not you; it’s merely something that carried you through life. Again – it’s not you. God didn’t create you to be a body that gets old, has disease, and simply falls apart with age. You are a perfect creation because you were created in God’s image. Think about that. God could have made you a rock, or tree, or even water. He didn’t. He created you a living, breathing, thinking and loving human being. Death doesn’t kill that. You merely take on your permanent form as a God loved spirit.

Death is physically ugly because God wants us to know that there is no turning back.

When someone dies we cry. This is because we miss the person. We are afraid, confused, and we see that our own death will soon follow. After you mourn, then please realize if he or she believed in Jesus, then they are in heaven. The person doesn’t cry for you; he is happy in heaven. If he was sick or suffering; he is now at peace. He sits with Jesus, and would never want to return. If you want to remember and honor him, then live a good life, trust, repent and most of all – believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus died violently, and then went up to heaven. He sacrificed His life to prove that death is not the end. The early Christians were murdered by the thousands rather than give up Jesus. They gave up their lives gladly, because they realized earth is not our home – we are just visitors here – and that death has no power over us.

The believers we love on earth, we shall see in heaven. You can see your death as black event – or – simply a passage to our place of eternal, heavenly, rest.

God bless you.