People often talk about “the untimely death of a loved one” as though there is such a thing as the timely death of a loved one. The general assumption is that we all die so therefore timely deaths are those that happen to your grandparents or a great-uncle or even your parents as you get older and untimely ones are those that happen to your spouse, siblings or your children.
There is some truth in this of course, as the oft quoted Hebrews 9:27 says “it is appointed unto men once to die…” so we must accept it. However, that misses the full picture. Death is always untimely. By its very nature it is a result of evil and thus “untimely” even to the oldest of us. Moreover it takes us outside of time and is thus untimely or shall we say non-time-ly. Lets read Hebrews 9:27-28 and get the fuller picture.
Hebrews 9:27–28 (NIV)
27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
I would urge you to read the entire letter but just these two verses enlighten us with so much more. Death is not final. Following death there is judgement. This will be an unfortunate wake-up call to the “death is a great experience filled with bright lights” crowd but it is what has been revealed to us by him who went through death and came back. There is also good news, indeed great news, Christ was sacrificed so that sins would be removed and when he returns he will bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Are you waiting for him? If not, there is nothing beyond death but judgement my friend. That is the stark reality and I would sooner believe an incarnate God who died and rose again than those who promise pie in the sky…
