Death Without Fear

I (Aaron) received the phone call from my parents last night that my Grandmother on my father's side passed away. It was not a big surprise, her health had declined over the last year and then she was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago and we knew the end was coming soon. She was a believer and we are rejoicing with her that she is now in the presence of God for eternity!

There is an aspect of this that can encourage us all...She had no fear of death. In fact, she eagerly anticipated it and was excited to meet Jesus face to face. Her last couple of days were mostly spent unconscious because of the medications, but a few times she woke up and was rather upset that she was still alive! She understood that a believer in Christ has no reason to fear death. We have the promise that by believing in Christ and what He did on the cross, we will spend eternity with Him. No other religion offers that assurance. Most religions rely on works or good deeds to secure your place in heaven and you ultimately won't know until the day of judgment whether or not you measure up. I also find that many Christians live their whole life with a fear of dying because they fear that they don't measure up. Our confidence is anchored in

Ephesians 2:8- "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

I pray that when it comes time for each of us to crossover into eternity that we have the same confidence and excitement to meet our Creator as my grandmother did yesterday. God is faithful and His promises are true!