Salvation Follows Death — So We Should Not Fear It

Recently I shared with a Bible study group a conversation I had with my children last month. Almost every day in October, we drove past an elaborate Halloween front yard display of full-size skeletons carrying a coffin.

“Mom! Look at those skeletons carrying that box!” my five-year-old exclaimed.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“Yes,” I answered, slightly distracted and ready to get home. “That’s a coffin.”

“What’s a coffin?” both my five-year-old and six-year-old asked.

Darn it. I hadn’t really wanted to get into a conversation about death, but the conversation was upon me — whether I wanted it or not.

“Well, when a person dies, the soul leaves the body and the body is left behind. The soul, which is who you really are — what makes you you, goes to heaven.”

But I didn’t mention the alternative. “Then we put the body in a box called a coffin and bury the body in the ground.”

Even as I explained it, it sounded surreal. I braced for outbursts or at the very least shocked expressions. However, my children took this new information remarkably well. “Right. Like Harry’s body,” my five-year-old said knowingly.

Harry was one of our beloved dogs who had to be put to sleep last spring. We opted to have him cremated and now have his ashes in a very nice cedar box. I have no idea what to do with that box.

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“No. We don’t have Harry’s body anymore, right, Mom?” the six-year-old asked, sure of himself.

“Well …” I grappled for the right words. “When dogs die, and sometimes people, too, there’s a process called cremation. And after cremation, you’re left with the ashes of the body.” I hoped that this would be a sufficient explanation.

“What are ashes?”

Oh, good grief. I have to confess: I simply changed the subject.

In telling that story to my group of friends in our small group at church, we began talking about our society’s current treatment of death compared to only a few generations ago. In the past, a loved one lived in the family home until he or she died. Children saw the person not only dying, but the dead body during the viewing that again took place in the home. Then, the body was put into a coffin and buried in the ground.

Now, a person goes to a hospital or nursing home to die. We want to be notified when the end is near or possibly even after it has happened. Even memorial services, burials, and funerals have become less common. We want death to be sterile and separate from our daily existence. Neat, clean, done.

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Why have we become so afraid to discuss and accept what is inevitable for each person currently alive, especially as Christians? We believe that our souls leave our bodies and are immediately with Christ in heaven. Our bodies die — but our souls go on.

Could it be that all of the effort is to assuage our guilt over those who do not have salvation through Jesus Christ? Or, for those who do not have faith in Christ, is it easier to accept death and possible eternity if it is packaged as something distant and less grotesque?

I found myself reluctant to mentioning hell and its existence to my children, even though they know that we believe Jesus is the only way to heaven … and not everyone believes in Jesus. Maybe I’m afraid their concern for those who are lost will be greater than my own. Maybe I would have to tell them why I haven’t explicitly shared the gospel plan of salvation with some of our friends. Maybe I’m afraid to answer some difficult questions about eternity.

But that’s just it. Death is a reality — and eternity with it. We can’t hide from it, and as Christians we shouldn’t fear it. However, since it is part of each life, how much more should we urgently share the good news?

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

We are needlessly protecting our children from what is a natural part of our existence; this requires a necessary understanding of why it exists. We do this likely because we are ourselves uncomfortable with the subject matter and the consequences for sin.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Because of our sin (“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23), we must die. It is the debt that is owed. However, there is hope “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Because of God’s graciousness and inexplicable, amazing love for us, we are offered the free gift of salvation. So do not fear death. Do not cringe when conversations and questions arise about eternity. Joyfully share with your children and those around you with the Good News that comes from no other name than Jesus Christ.

And if you have no hope in the yawning reality of eternity before you, please pray for understanding of this verse and accept its instructions: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)

Katie Nations is a wife of 15 years and a working mother of three young children. She lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.