How to Die

"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart." (Ecclesiastes 7:2)

  Do you know what everyone in the history of the world, with a very few exceptions, have in common? They are all either dead, dying or will die. Like taxes, you can't evade it. (Just ask Al Capone. Well, wait- you can't. He's dead.)

  If the abolition of man is his ultimate destiny, as C.S. Lewis told us, then it seems like we should take time to prepare to die. And guess what else? The great irony of this is: when you learn how to die, you also learn how to live.

*  Parents: Your mom and dad help bring about your physical life on this Earth. From the moment of conception to your last day, they will always be the ones who will be concerned about you and taking care of you as much as they can. Parents are a wonderful gift and are people to be treasured and respected.

*  Means of death: While there are a variety of options out there for dying, including asphyxiation, incineration, drowning, and being eaten alive by wild animals, I would say the best option is still old age. I would certainly take this route if possible. However, this is one area you will not need to worry about, as the means of death will be provided for you in the dying process. So, unless you do something to increase the likelihood of one particular means of death over another, it will most likely come as a surprise and that's probably best.

*  These are really the main two things one needs in order to die. As you can see, death is a pretty easy and natural thing to do. It is something that comes to each person, so it is not something one need worry about seeking out. It will come in its own time. However, I would posit that a third thing is needed in order to die truly prepared.

*  Right relationship with God: "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him." (Hebrews 9:27-28)Herein is the crux of the matter. In order to have a successful death, one is only required to die with no decision made regarding God's position in one's life. However, in order to have a successful and triumphant death, one is required to put all hope and faith in Jesus Christ prior to dying. This is a very crucial point to make, as one only gets one shot at this. Once you're dead, you're dead and nothing outside of God's intervention can change that. All people are by default bound to die and spend eternity in Hell, due to our own evil natures and the evil thoughts and acts we do while on Earth. However, since God is not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance (see 2 Peter 3:9), He has instead made it possible for people to die and go to Heaven. His sole provision in revolutionizing the whole dying process came through His Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross for all the wrong things anyone ever has done or is doing or will do, Heaven's admission price was paid for everyone. By Jesus rising again from the dead, He proved His Lordship and made it possible for people to die with triumph. "But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you." (Romans 8:10-11) Those who choose to die in this manner can take hope in knowing that their death isn't merely a successful physical expiration of life, but it leads to a continued spiritual existence full of life. And here is the eternally essential and most vital component of the dying process, which absolutely must take place before the dying process is completed. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Upon making this cry of the heart known to God through prayer, one can feel the security of being truly prepared for dying. One should then find counsel in a Christian church as well as Christian friends to help in the journey to triumphant death. Daily Bible reading and prayer are also a must in this process. Having done all this, one can now truly understand how being truly ready to die makes one truly ready to live. "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)

Knowing how to die should also inform how to live. Once one has made Christ the Lord of one's life, the remaining time spent living should be spent living for Christ in everything. One great way to do this is to tell others how to die a triumphant death as well.

This is a limited time offer. Just as no one knows what day they will die, in the same way no one knows if Jesus will return before you die. And since it could be today or it could be 1000 years from now (see 2 Peter 3:8-9), one should act on this information immediately. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says that today is the day of salvation!

*  "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:42)