We are not doomed to
an ultimate conflict with no hope of resolution. The message of scripture is one of victory-
full, final, and ultimate victory. It is
not our doom that is certain, but Satan's.
His head has been crushed by the heel of Christ, who is the Alpha and
Omega.
Above all suffering
and death stands the crucified and risen Lord.
He has defeated the ultimate enemy of life. He has vanquished the power of death. He calls us to die, a call to obedience in
the final transition of life. Because of
Christ, death is not final. It is a
passage from one world to the next.
God does not always
will healing. If He did, He would suffer
endless frustration, seeing His will being repeatedly thwarted in the deaths of
His people. He did not will the healing
of Stephen from the wounds inflicted by the stones that were hurled against
him. He did not will the healing of
Moses, of Joseph, of David, of Paul, of Augustine, of Martin Luther, of John
Calvin. These all died in faith. Ultimate healing comes through death and
after death….Certainly God answers prayers and gives healings to our bodies
during this life. But even those
healings are temporary. Jesus raised
Lazarus from the dead. But Lazarus died
again. Jesus gave sight to the blind and
hearing to the deaf. Yet every person
Jesus healed eventually died. They died
not because Satan finally won over Jesus, but because Jesus called them to die.
When God issues a
call to us, it is always a holy call.
The vocation of dying is a sacred
vocation. To understand that is one of
the most important lessons a Christian can ever learn. When the summons comes, we can respond in
many ways. We can become angry, bitter
or terrified. But if we see it as a call
from God and not a threat from Satan, we are far more prepared to cope with its
difficulties.
R. C. Sproul
