{"id":1256,"date":"2016-04-20T21:22:44","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T01:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/?p=1256"},"modified":"2016-04-20T21:22:45","modified_gmt":"2016-04-21T01:22:45","slug":"goodnight-christian-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/goodnight-christian-death\/","title":{"rendered":"‘GOODNIGHT’…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span>t is said that there are two certainties in life \u2013 death and taxes<\/b>. Ironically both subjects tend to be off limits at dinner parties. Our death is something we don\u2019t want to talk about, let alone think about. Woody Allen once quipped:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s not that we\u2019re afraid to die. We just don\u2019t want to be there when it happens.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>Yet Malcolm Muggeridge, a former British journalist and author, observed:\u00a0In earthly terms death is the only certainty.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to be morbid today, but it is a subject we need to consider. And what better time than during this season of Easter!<\/span><\/p>\n

Our creed states: \u2018I believe in\u2026 the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting\u2019. What does this really mean? What happens if we\u2019re burnt, or buried, or our body is destroyed? And, if one day we are to be raised, what kind of body will we have? The subject is complex and our answers can easily become no more than confused ramblings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consider what Paul writes in the clearest biblical statement on the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:21 we read:\u00a0For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.\u00a0\u00a0For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

GOODNIGHT<\/h2>\n

When we attach ourselves, by faith, to Jesus, we can be assured that even though our bodies may rot and decay in a grave, the day will come when we too will be raised from the dead. On that awesome day when Christ will be seen in all his majestic power, he will give us a new body.\u00a0For God\u2019s people, death is not ‘Goodbye’, but ‘Goodnight’<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 resurrection foreshadows the resurrection from the dead of all his people. This is the theme that Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 15:35ff. He writes:\u00a0Someone may ask<\/i>,\u00a0\u201cHow are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?\u201d How foolish,<\/i>\u00a0what you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

When I was in Kindergarten class, my family was living in the country.\u00a0I remember carrying out my first formal scientific experiment.<\/b>\u00a0We were given a saucer, cotton wool and some wheat. We put the wheat on the cotton wool, wet it and took it home. Over the next few days I was amazed at what I observed. Out of the rotting, smelly grain grew new life.<\/span><\/p>\n

CHRISTIAN DEATH<\/h2>\n

In the present order of things death needs to take place before new life occurs<\/b>. The death of the first is the means of effecting change.\u00a0When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed…\u00a0<\/i>There\u2019s a process of death before life, even in nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Paul continues:\u00a0God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same:\u00a0\u00a0men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another<\/i>\u00a0(vv.38, 39).\u00a0\u00a0It is God\u2019s prerogative to bring about change and give the sown seed its appropriate plant body as he wills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, he is used to creating bodies appropriate for different kinds of environments<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 for men and women and for animals who live on the land, for birds that fly, and for fish that live in water. Each is perfectly fitted for its environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE AGE TO COME<\/h2>\n

In the same way, our earthly bodies are suited for our earthly existence, but they will be useless in the perfection of the age to come.<\/b>\u00a0Our present bodies need to be buried when their work is done here, so that out of their raw material God can produce a new, spiritual body perfectly suited for the new age.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Have no doubt,\u2019 says Paul, \u2018the resurrection of our bodies will be a reality.<\/b>\u00a0It makes sense. It\u2019s consistent with what we can observe of the various elements of the present natural order. It means there is continuity between our present and future existence.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

This is important for us to know<\/b>. It means for one thing that God treats every aspect of his creating work seriously \u2013 nothing is lost, for everything has a meaning.\u00a0There\u2019s not some massive disjunction between the material and the spiritual world<\/b>. This suggests that keeping as fit as we can now is an important part of worship of God. I\u2019m not suggesting that we all go out and join \u2018Fit for Him\u2019 exercise classes, but certainly the continuity between the present and the future order should encourage us not to abuse our bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n

What we do in every aspect of our life now matters to God.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 John G. Mason<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

t is said that there are two certainties in life \u2013 death and taxes. Ironically both subjects tend to be off limits at dinner parties. Our death is something we don\u2019t want to talk about, let alone think about. Woody Allen once quipped:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s not that we\u2019re afraid to die. We just don\u2019t want to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-on-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\n'GOODNIGHT'... - The Anglican Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On that awesome day when Christ will be seen in all his majestic power, he will give us a new body.\u00a0For God\u2019s people, death is not Goodbye, but Goodnight.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/goodnight-christian-death\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'GOODNIGHT'... - 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