Prolegomenon
Just as New Year’s celebrations began around the globe, news surfaced that actress Betty White had passed away. People immediately responded to this news with sadness, as Betty White was a particularly loved face on American television for quite some time. People also responded with shock and disbelief that she had truly passed away, even being quite advanced in age. It was this shock that was such an odd phenomenon—it was, indeed, a bit shocking that people were shocked. Betty White was 99 when she passed, which most of us would certainly count as passing away at a “good age, full of days” (cf. 1 Chron 29:28).
Just over a week after White’s passing, news broke that Bob Saget had also passed away. Though certainly much younger than Betty White (Saget was 65 at his passing), his death has garnered similar responses of grief, love, and yes, shock. Many of the responses in the news and on social media were those of shock and disbelief that someone who was a treasured icon of 90s television had unexpectedly passed away.
When a high-profile or celebrity death occurs, some have suspiciously theorized that a third death will surely follow the initial two. This superstition is commonly referred to as the rule of three, which involves the belief (no doubt with various levels of conviction) that such deaths will often occur in sets of three (a theory which possibly gained widespread popularity following the fatal plane crash involving Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper). Such thinking is surely a thinly-veiled animism that may be correspondingly dismissed, but it would be safe to say that any high-profile death (including those of celebrity actors/actresses) seems to cause us to reflect more on our own mortality.
And for many, that contemplation of mortality will lead to a state of shock.
A Biblical Category
How should a Christian respond to death? Christians have long proclaimed that death is a foregone conclusion for most of us (that is, physical death—cf. Rev 2:11; 20:14). Christians recognize that every descendent of Adam eventually dies, save for a very few exceptions in Scripture, and assuming that Christ does not return within our own lifetimes. Death is a certain, unavoidable reality of life on this side of the fall (Gen 3:19).
Yet this does not lead to hopelessness for the Christian. There will be a time in which death will no longer hold this power:
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” —Rev 21:4
The Christian, therefore, lives a life of joy in the promise of God. We yearn for a day when death is no more, and every tear is wiped from our eyes.
We may also recognize that a fear of death implies that we are clinging to life improperly (cf. Matt 10:28). Christians are called to regard their lives not as their own possession to be clung to and protected, but as belonging to God:
"For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." —Rom 14:8
If we reflect on how Paul (the human author of the above passage) lived his life, we would have to conclude that he certainly practiced what he preached. Paul did not seem suicidal or morbidly depressed, but Paul certainly did not cling to his life as if it was his own possession. No one could accuse Paul of being reckless or ignorant in the way he lived his life, but it was clear that his confidence and trust were in the Lord and not in the safety of this world. He was God’s, and his life belonged to God.
The Danger of Safety
Our shock at the prospect of death is quite telling. We live in a time of heightened concerns about life and death—many people have thought more about death and dying in the last two years than at any other point in their lives. What is concerning is how that thinking seems to be taking shape.
Many people would have expressed a confidence concerning death and the final things in this life. Christians would confidently express their security in the Lord and their hope of the resurrection. Unbelievers would often express a similar confidence, albeit in some other system or ideology which ostensibly provided comfort. Yet it seems that when these beliefs were put to the test (on both sides), when the pressure was forcefully and consistently applied, it seems that the substance of that confidence was found wanting. In other words, what was proclaimed did not seem to match what was often practiced.
If we believe in God, that means we have no final fear of death. If Christ is who He says He is, and has done what He says He has done, we have no fear of death. Christ tells us as much:
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” —Matt 10:28
“And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” —John 11:26
Do Christians “believe this?” Do Christians truly believe that life is a passing mist (Jas 4:14), like a flower that blooms and falls (1 Pet 1:24), like smoke rising from a fire (Ps 102:3), like a passing shadow or withering grass (Ps 102:11)? Is this what we truly believe?
There is not a danger in safety, but there is a danger in dependance on safety. Safety itself is not bad—washing our hands, wearing our seatbelts, not jumping into the bathtub with an electrical appliance in hand… safety, in and of itself, is not the enemy. But a dependence on safety is a dangerous threat. If we begin to place our trust in things or people who we believe will provide us with safety, we run the risk of creating a self-styled religion of “safe-ism” that can be quite dangerous. Worshipping safety, placing our faith in safety, treasuring safety above all things—it is hard not to classify this as its own religion to an extent. Speaking biblically, we do not know what tomorrow brings (Prov 27:1; Jas 4:13–15), therefore we are instructed to soberly consider the shortness our days (Ps 39:4; 90:12) and make the most use of our time in a godly manner (Eph 5:15–17).
Death is always painful for those who are left behind. Christians may freely grieve the loss of a loved one, and tears shed at a funeral can be a godly display of grief. Yet death should not shock a Christian, and our lives should not be shaped and dominated by the fear of death (nor anything else, for that matter). And the stakes here are incredibly high—if we live in fear of death, we risk losing sight of the victorious Christ (1 Cor 15:55–57).
SDG,
Josh Howard
Josh Howard serves as the Elder/Pastor at Grace Community Church in Battle Creek, MI, co-hosts the Good Doctrine Podcast, and is an alumni of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (PhD, ThM).