Is Death an Enemy or Blessing?

Q: Some say death is an enemy, others say it is a blessing. Which is right? – D.E.

A: From the moment we are born, we start to die. Death is the most dramatic experience in life. Stand at the door of a hospital emergency room and watch as personnel wheel in victims from accidents, gun shootings, or heart attacks. How quickly the thought of death comes – like a snap of the finger.

We don’t like the thought of dying. Our culture is unable to deal with the orderly process of aging, but if we can understand death and get a proper perspective on it, it will help us to live. You may ask, how can we find that perspective? Through the eyes of the Bible. God’s Word has a lot to say about death.

The Bible indeed teaches that death is an enemy of mankind. It can snatch away people in the prime of life, leaving behind sorrowing widows, widowers, and children, and many blame it all on God.

But God never meant that people should die. There was no death in the Garden of Eden, no pain or suffering. Military and police forces weren’t needed; perfect man was placed in an environment of perfection. But because people were granted individual will, they chose to rebel against Almighty God. That rebellion is called sin.

The Bible teaches that death came not because God didn’t care, but because man didn’t care about what God said. Death reigns over the whole human race. It’s a judgment upon mankind because of our sin. We age and deteriorate because of sin. But because we are sinners, death, in a sense, is a blessing, because God has promised that this enemy, death, will be destroyed forever and God will reign victorious. The question we must all answer is: Will we reign with Him in eternity?

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

(c)2020 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.