Death

Jonathan Edwards' 9th resolution. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.

To be fair to Jonathan Edwards his resolution has more to do with the period of time surrounding death, but his resolution caused me to consider what death ushers in.

Consider:

2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord . . . and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

and again . . .

Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.

Paul had obviously thought a great deal about his own death and we should be imitators of him as he imitated Jesus. In death our individual redemption will be complete and we will be able to concentrate fully on glorifying God having conscious, intimate, unhindered fellowship with Him. Plus a pure Heaven is simply better than a decaying earth. Additionally, as I realized after a death of a friend last year, when a person dies it means that God has fulfilled His purposes for that person's life and the good works that He prepared for them to walk in were accomplished.