Our questions of the faith series continues today and tomorrow with a topic that affects us all.  When Mark Twain buried his beloved daughter Olivia's body he placed over her grave this epitaph: "Warm summer sun, shine kindly here; Warm southern wind, blow softly here; Green sod, lie light, good night, dear heart."  He was sure that she was in the grave, that death is all there is.  Was he right?

What happens when we die?  When death comes to someone we care about?  How are we to be ready?  Let's organize our issues into three questions.  We’ll examine the first two today.

First, will death come for you?  Can you escape it?  Is there any way out?  W.C. Fields on his deathbed was seen thumbing through a Bible.  Someone asked why.  His answer: "Looking for loopholes."  But he didn't find any.  The death rate is still 100%.

In fact, you and I are one day closer to death and eternity than we have ever been before.  God's word warns us: "It is appointed unto all men once to die, and then the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).  Death comes for us all.  Neither wisdom nor wealth can prevent it: "All can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others" (Psalm 49:10).  We all face the same end, unless Jesus returns first: "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14).

Second, why does death exist?  If God were all-loving, he'd want to destroy death, we assume.  If he were all powerful, he could.  But he doesn't.  Why?

Here's the simple answer: because of sin.  The thief on the cross said, "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve" (Luke 23:41).  The Bible agrees: "Sin entered the world through man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all have sinned" (Romans 5:12).  This wasn't God's intention.  He created a perfect world for his children.  But when sin entered, death stayed.  Death exists, not because God doesn't love us or isn't powerful, but because of sin.

Sometimes we die because of our own sin, as did the thief at Jesus' side.  Sometimes we die because of the sins of others, as when a drunk driver kills a child.  Sometimes we die because of the sin of humanity, for this is the lot of life.  But we all die.

God doesn't stop death, so that we'll not live forever in our fallen world and bodies.  In Genesis 3 God knew that if Adam and Eve ate from the tree of life after their sin, they would live forever in their fallen, sinful condition.  So in his merciful grace, he barred the way.  Now by death, we are set for eternity with him.

God's word is clear: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" (1 Corinthians 15:50).  Physical death frees us to live forever in glorified bodies with God in his heaven.  Then one day, death will be destroyed forever: "Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of five" (Revelation 20:14).  His word promises: "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4).

Tomorrow: What happens at the moment of death?

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