And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them. Revelation 14:13
Every time I take my turn to give a word in the Gospel on Lord’s Day evenings, there is a thought that runs through my mind as I look down on the audience. I don’t always mention this thought, but it is always there. As I look at the younger children seated near the front, as I look at the older saints enjoying the sounds of the grand old story once again, as I watch the folks for whom we had been praying on our knees just a few minutes earlier, as I watch each of the individuals showing a measure of interest in the message, or no interest, I can’t help but think that 100 years from now, none of these people will be here. As clocks and calendars keep count, each of us walks our little path through the tapestry of time. And that little path, far shorter than we realize, terminates at a grave site. Regardless of who we are, what we have done, or where we stand in light of eternity, we must all needs die. And our text tells us who among the dead will be blessed.
The word blessed simply means happy. We don’t usually relate happiness with death. Funeral homes are mournful places, despite their pleasant decorations, their flowers, and their soothing music. Relatives and friends sob and hug and sigh at the great loss. But what about the person who used to reside in the cold form in the coffin, is there happiness for that person? Our text tells us there is, if that person died in the Lord. There are only two ways in which people will die, in the Lord or in their sins. The tragic loss of those who die in their sins can never be calculated; their lot is to never more throughout eternity know happiness. The caverns of perdition ring with wails and curses and screams, not with laughter. But those who die in the Lord will never again know the lack of joy and delight and pleasures forever more. How we ought to rejoice today that our salvation has given us the assurance that our death – if we are called upon to die – will be in the Lord!
Heaven’s joys cannot be grasped by our little mortal minds. But we can enjoy precious hints of that happiness in those things the Lord has given to us. Consider the thrill our souls receive as we sing a stirring hymn with several hundred other saints at one of our conferences; that same joy on a much grander scale will be ours in Heaven. Consider the sweet peace that envelopes our souls on a Lord’s Day morning as we contemplate our Saviour’s death on the cross; that same sweet peace is multiplied for us in the Glory. Consider the comfort and appreciation that we feel as we review each day’s blessings and mercies that the Lord has generously provided; that same comfort and appreciation are ours in full richness in our Lord’s presence.
That last great enemy death loses its sting when we realize how happy we will be to die in the Lord. -Jim MacIntosh