"i invite YOU in": the COOL of DEATH

Nine years later and we’re still saying “we’ll see you later!” “But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me" (II Samuel 12:23).We’re going to those who have gone before us. Those who are not gone from us, but absent from us.  Those who are dead to this side of life, but alive and whole on the other side with Christ. We are going to them! Not to be with just them, but to be with Jesus with them. That is what heaven is! A means to get to Jesus.We are not to use Jesus to get to heaven, we are to want heaven so that we can get to Jesus!Confused yet?Today marks the 9th year of my oldest brothers absence from us.  His death to Jesus! It’s not that he left us here, it’s that God chose to leave us here.  And while we are here, what are we doing until we also get there?  In other words, what are we doing with Jesus here until we get to be with Jesus there?My parents (and family) have carried the death of their oldest son, just as Jesus carried the casket of the cross. They have done so tearfully, yet peaceably, knowing that their loss may help somebody else redemptively. They have not rejected God’s faithfulness through this tragedy. In fact, they have projected God’s graciousness through the magnifying lens of this tragedy.  You see, death is the greatest magnifier of life. And since Jesus swallowed death, leaving only it’s shadow, my family and I are encompassed by “cool” as we have walked through the valley of the shadow of death without fearing any evil.Why “cool”? Because the Lord is always with us! And wherever His presence is recognized, the cool breeze of security takes you confidently to the other side.  That’s right, the reality of death cannot touch those who, because of Christ, are only left with the shadow of death.  He took the reality head- on for us, leaving only the shadow left to fall on us.You’re not afraid of a shadow, are you?So we march on, as a family, as casket carriers, as cross bearers. And we do so successfully, knowing that our suffering is bringing God glory. We miss our brother! Our parents miss their son. But we will go to Jesus one day and we will get to see our loved ones with the One who loved us so much that HE died to cover us.Love covers…..yes, even death!