[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fhow-should-we-talk-about-death":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fhow-should-we-talk-about-death-surround":93},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":18,"columnName":76,"date":77,"description":24,"extension":78,"image":79,"meta":80,"minRead":81,"navigation":82,"path":83,"postType":84,"publication":85,"publicationUrl":79,"seo":86,"stem":87,"topics":88,"__hash__":92},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fhow-should-we-talk-about-death.md","How Should We Talk About Death?",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17],"Genesis","1 Kings","Ecclesiastes","Daniel","Luke","2 Peter","1 Corinthians","Revelation","1 John",{"type":19,"value":20,"toc":72},"minimark",[21,25,28,31,34,37,40,43,46,49,52,55,63,66,69],[22,23,24],"p",{},"Curious expressions abound in these days of politically correct speech. Someone described a group of mechanics who were fired from their jobs by saying, \"They were placed on non-duty non-pay status.\"",[22,26,27],{},"And then there was the physician whose patient died. The sensitive doctor wrote on the patient's chart, \"He failed to fulfill his wellness potential.\"",[22,29,30],{},"Of course, all of us have strange and insensitive ways of talking about death. We say, \"He kicked the bucket.\" (And died from a toe injury?) \"He bought the farm.\" (And died from an acute case of buyer's remorse?) \"She expired.\" (Like a parking meter?) \"He croaked.\" (Compare that to no frog when I die.)",[22,32,33],{},"By comparison, the Bible uses meaningful and comforting word-pictures to describe a believer's death and resurrection.",[22,35,36],{},"Old Testament Pictures",[22,38,39],{},"Before Jacob died he gathered his sons around him and gave instructions and blessings to each of them. Then \"he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people\" (Genesis 49:33). Abraham and Isaac also were \"gathered to their people,\" which makes death sound less lonely and more like a family reunion (Genesis 25:8; 35:29).",[22,41,42],{},"The death of King David evoked a similar expression: he \"rested with his fathers\" (1 Kings 2:10). In the familiar words of the 23rd Psalm, David expected to \"dwell in the house of the Lord forever.\"",[22,44,45],{},"Solomon used vivid poetic imagery to portray what it means to die. Remember the Lord, he warned, \"before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it\" (Ecclesiastes 12:6, 7).",[22,47,48],{},"The prophet Daniel foresaw a time when \"multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever\" (Daniel 12:2, 3).",[22,50,51],{},"New Testament Pictures",[22,53,54],{},"A devout old man named Simeon waited faithfully for the coming of the Messiah. \"It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ\" (Luke 2:26). When Mary and Joseph brought the Christ-child into the temple courts, \"Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation . . .'\" (Luke 2:28-30). \"Dismissed\"—what a vivid way to describe Simeon's approaching death! The Lord was like a teacher saying, \"Class dismissed,\" or like a commanding officer giving the order, \"At ease, soldier!\"",[22,56,57,58,62],{},"On the Mount of Transfiguration heavenly light surrounded Jesus as he talked with Moses and Elijah. \"They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem\" (Luke 9:31). Peter used the same term in reference to his own death. \"I will make every effort,\" he wrote, \"to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things\" (2 Peter 1:15). \"Departure\" translates the Greek word ",[59,60,61],"em",{},"exodos",", literally the \"way out,\" like the way God led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. For a Christian, death isn't an inescapable trap. Because of Jesus, we know the way out! Death is our \"exodus,\" our departure—an exit, not extermination. Someone has said, \"Earth's exodus is Heaven's genesis.\"",[22,64,65],{},"According to the apostle Paul, a believer's death and resurrection will be a glorious transformation. \"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed\" (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52).",[22,67,68],{},"And the final book of the Bible offers this Beatitude: \"'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' 'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them'\" (Revelation 14:13).",[22,70,71],{},"However, one popular euphemism for death never appears in the Bible in reference to a Christian. First John 2:17 says, \"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.\" Instead of saying, \"He passed away,\" we should learn to say, \"He lives forever!\"",{"title":73,"searchDepth":74,"depth":74,"links":75},"",2,[],"First Look","2005-05-29","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fhow-should-we-talk-about-death","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":24},"articles\u002Fhow-should-we-talk-about-death",[89,90,91],"Biblical Theology","Holy Week and Resurrection","Christian Unity","YzdYCDQCmFBYYyb2PA_lCHRH7tGwsOQxlZaXRTDnCfc",[94,99],{"title":95,"path":96,"stem":97,"description":98,"children":-1},"How Jesus Handled Conflict","\u002Farticles\u002Fhow-jesus-handled-conflict","articles\u002Fhow-jesus-handled-conflict","Thomas Paine wrote, \"These are the times that try men's souls. . . . Yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.\" When we are going through trying times, Jesus' example can help us cope. How did the Lord handle conflict?",{"title":100,"path":101,"stem":102,"description":103,"children":-1},"How Teachable Are You?","\u002Farticles\u002Fhow-teachable-are-you","articles\u002Fhow-teachable-are-you","During a recent trip to Colorado Springs, my wife Candy and I visited a beautiful park called the Garden of the Gods. We set out on a shorthike past enormous rock formations that jutted hundreds of feet out of the ground. The scenery was beautiful, but after about 90 minutes, the two of us agreed that we had seen all there was to see."]