Steve Jobs is an even higher profile figure who recently died. His last words were reputed to be, "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow!" It does make you wonder.
Death has been on my mind of late because of the death of our cat, who died in my wife's arms last Sunday, and because of the imminent deaths of three friends. St. Paul says that now we see through the glass darkly and I believe this is true, if we see at all.
Non-believers either ignore death or deal with it by false bravado - "Do not go gentle into that good night!" in the words of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. You may not go gently, Mr. Thomas, but most assuredly you will (and did) go.
Christians too often try to ignore death too or paper over it with a glib religious gloss. It is easy to say that God will see us through when it is someone else who is dying. It becomes much more difficult when we are the one who is looking down the long end of the barrel and our own earthly existence is drawing to a close. We all fear what we do not know and we do not know what lies on the other side in the same sense that we know our wife sitting next to us, the smile of our children, or the warmth of the morning sun. But do we, in fact, have some real knowledge even now that we do not realize that is enough to bring us through? The answer, I believe, is "yes."
It starts by acknowledging that Paul says that we see though the glass darkly, not that we don't see at all. That would be the experience of my life. Occasionally we are given "God sightings." Chuck Colson calls them "signposts to God." www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/18420 For most of us they are few and far between. It could be because we are blind and deaf and simply missing them all the time, but more likely it is because He doesn't want to overwhelm us with His presence and so withholds it from us. Being constantly in His immediate presence can breed a blase' attitude - think the Jews and Moses trekking around Mt. Sinai for 40 years. It can also cause fear, but not inspire love, and it is love freely given that God desires from us.
Thinking back over my life, I can count a few occasions where I can say unequivocally that God was with me. They were unmistakeable and have stayed with me ever since. I may see through a glass darkly but for a few moments at least, I did see face-to-face. If He can do that, then I know He can walk with me through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
So dear friends, know that we on this side, and your family and friends on the other side, are praying for you as you approach the veil. We pray that you know beyond any doubt that He has you in the palm of His hand. I know that some day you will return the favor. Remember the God sightings that you have known in this life - He is the same God who will bring you through. Aloha means "Until we meet again," so Aloha and not goodbye.
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