Directions – January-February 2024
Almighty God did not design humankind for dying. He has always intended us for immortality. Death has nothing natural about it. We dare not befriend it. Death represents an enemy to us, to all life, and to our Lord.
On the other hand, we need not dread death. The Gospel does not obligate us to attempt extending the flesh’s existence indefinitely. Death looms larger than any one of us or all of us together, but Another remains even greater than death. And He has wrangled death into serving His cause and benefitting His creatures.
Mortis dulcia nomina means “the sweet names of death.” Our Savior the Son of God has domesticated death by ingesting its venom Himself. By rising alive again triumphant, Jesus gives His Scriptural people the language to look forward to our last hours. In the words of the hymnwriter, “He leads me to the portal | That leads to bliss untold, | Whereon this rhyme immortal | Is found in script of gold: | ‘Who there My cross has shared | Finds here a crown prepared; | Who there with Me has died | Shall here be glorified.’”
Consult Ecclesiastes 12:7 and John 19:30. How does the Bible define death?
Read also Genesis 2:7-9, Romans 5:12, and 1 Corinthians 15:26, 53-57. What events demonstrate to us that death never should have happened to humankind in the first place?
Turn to Ecclesiastes 8:8, Deuteronomy 32:39, Matthew 10:28, and Revelation 1:17-18. Where does death’s authority rest? Why does this reality bring us both caution and consolation?
In each of the references below, what delightful description does the Word of the Lord assign to death, and how can this comfort us as we contemplate our final days? In what circumstances might each offer specific encouragement to a loved one or neighbor?
Genesis 25:8 –
Isaiah 57:1 –
Luke 2:29 –
John 11:11-13 –
Revelation 14:13 –
2 Corinthians 5:2 –
Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6:3 –
Revelation 2:10 –
2 Corinthians 5:8 –
Luke 23:43 –
1 Corinthians 13:12 –