Death And Taxes
The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
Proverbs 14:32
Someone once observed that there are only two great equalizers in life: death and taxes. Actually, that person was only half-right, because some people manage to avoid paying taxes at all, either because of loopholes in the tax law or because they do not make enough money.
The only true equalizer is death.
Everyone dies.
The writer of Hebrews says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
Much of the world pretends that death does not exist. We like to speak of the dead as “departed” or persons who have died as having “passed on” or “expired.” We do not like the word death. It seems so final, so irreversible, so hopeless.
But not for the person who has trusted Christ as Savior. Death is only the beginning of the beginning, not the end.
C. S. Lewis once observed that this life is only “shadowlands” compared with the glory that is to come.
There is a wonderful song which says, “It’s as though we see through clouded glass; our eyes cannot see past this veil of tears, our present pain. This world can never comprehend a love that will not end, the life that always will remain. For there, beyond the edge of time, is wisdom so divine, the throne of truth, the shining way. And soon in majesty He’ll come, to take his people home, and in that bright and glorious day . . . we will see Him as He is, the Father God so holy, the truth in endless glory; we will see Him as He is, the wisdom of the ages, the love that died to save us. We will see Him.”
What a glorious thought with which we can comfort ourselves, no matter what our circumstances. We will see Christ someday if we have put our faith in Him.
Our Father and our God, I long for the day when I will behold the magnificent face of Jesus, my Lord. I can’t imagine the thrill of being in Your awesome presence, but I dream of singing Your glorious praises throughout eternity. Thank You for saving me through Your grace and the blood of Jesus. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).