This may come as a shock to some, but death was not originally a natural part of human or animal existence.   

“Oh, come on,” I hear you say. “You’ve got to be kidding! Of course death is normal. Everyone dies!”

That has indeed been the reality for most of history. Yet it was not how God wanted things to be. The Bible tells us that He created this world to be perfect. But the first people, Adam & Eve, gave in to the temptation to disobey God, and their sin earned the consequence of death. That event is known as ‘The Fall’. From that point onwards, human beings and animals became mortal. Romans 5:12 says that “sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin…” We will all need to face death (unless, of course, Christ returns during our lifetime!).

While we must accept this reality, we need not despair; nor should we act as if our short time on earth is everything we have to look forward to. On the contrary, God has promised that death will not have the final say for those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 puts it like this, “for if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” Christ Himself said in John 6:40, “my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Because Christ has paid for our sins by His death, we are able to live in peace with God forever, just as it was meant to be. So may we look to the Lord Jesus in faith and hope, and dispel the darkness of death with the wonderful light of life.