Word to the wise...

So today I got to talk to the deacons and deaconesses about visitations. I love this by the way. So I was trying to show them how they might apply a portals of prayer (we have them in Spanish) to many different situations even though the devotion for the day only speaks of one issue. I didn’t get far because we got to talking about something else. I tried to ask them how they would apply the devotion to someone who has just found out that they are going to die. They amazed me... “Oh we don’t talk about death when someone is dying” So my next question was; “Well... why not?” “we want to build up their self esteem” then I said; “So you just say something like, ‘oh don’t worry! You will be all better soon!’?” To which they said; “Oh yes it is better not to talk about death even if you know they are going to die” I had no idea!!!!! Here I was thinking that these people are so healthy in their social relationships and have such a healthy perspective on death, but what I wasn't seeing was that they just weren’t talking about it. 

So today, we talked. We talked about clothing yourself in scripture and going to battle with the word of God. We talked about fearlessly entering into a house of death with the word of life. At the heart of what my class was saying was fear. Not that they feared their own death but they feared how people may receive the Gospel. It has always fascinated me how we delicately cradle the dying and ease them into the grave when we should be taking up the sword of righteousness and fighting off any fears, doubts, or misconceived ideas they may have. We will die, we don’t need to delicately walk around that. Jesus died, we cannot walk so delicately with that. With Christ’s death and triumphant victory over sin, death, and the devil we may fearlessly march forward into battle holding the cross of Christ saying, “this is not the end. My Lord does not remain silent in death therefor while I am with the living, I shall proclaim all the more loudly that my Savior lives and because he lives I too shall live.” This is a message I hope and pray may begin to permeate the lives of those who are learning in the church here in the D.R.. I pray this message banishes what has been accepted as socially normal and allows them to speak the resurrection in the face of death and not words of false hope.

Job 19:25-26

New King James Version (NKJV)

25 

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;

26 

And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God