Fear and Death

(This is my sixth post on fear)

The Focus of Fear
Love Vs. Fear
The Language of the Bible
What is Fear?
New Post Series on Fear



Yesterday, I attended the funeral of a man that my mom called her "second dad". It was a sad time, but a good chance to remember this man who was a Marine to the core and who loved his family and friends. The memories that were shared and the service in its entirety was a good chance for everyone to grieve their loss. All in all, I think it was good experience.

But what got me thinking was that in the service Psalm 23 was read. In it, David says, "Though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."

Though there are different interpretations of this, I think what David is saying is that he will not fear death or any evil in it. This is monumental because, as humans, the fear of death has to be one of the biggest fears in our lives. And yet David, speaking of going through death, says that he will not fear evil. Why?

The answer is that death is what David calls a shadow. But what does that mean? You see, for those whose trust is in the Lord, death is nothing more than a shadow. It might be dark and scary and might make you shiver when it passes over you, but it is absolutely harmless. Shadows never hurt anyone.

And that is what death is to us. It might look scary and painful, but it can't hurt us. Not ultimately, and not if our hope is in the Lord. Death is simply a passage into life. And not just life, a life that is infinite joy and bliss without any pain, sickness, sorrow, or death ever again. It is through death that we attain this life. Just as once the shadow passes over us the sun will shine again.