Dying for your Christian Faith
People die in in their numbers every minute and apparently that is the way it is. There are even calculated estimates on the number of deaths around the world. There is a website by the name worldbirthsanddeaths.com that simulates the number of deaths and I really believe it indicates a close to accurate global occurrence of deaths.
Death should not be a trouble at all because the Bible tells us that it is destined for people to die once and after that comes judgement (Hebrews 9:27). It is also recorded that the living know they will die (Ecclesiastes 9:5). Death should not be a question at all but probably the question is on who decides the time to cross over, God or the devil? I have previously written some articles that address a similar question which you might want to review. They include ‘Does God number our days or we die due to our negligence?’ and ‘The deception on healthy living and living longer’.
There are people that seemingly die before their time and there are those that die at their rightful time. Those that die prematurely are those that are at the hands of the devil. This is because the devil’s purpose is to kill and destroy (John 10:10). Take the case of suicide, the person that kills himself or herself is obviously cutting his or her life short. Even if it means cutting it short by an hour but it defines a premature death case.
Whenever you expose yourself to the devil’s plans, you are hardly safe from harm of all sorts including death. In reality, being exposed to the devil’s plans is not having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Truth be told; even when you are a Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or any other spiritual relationship, you are not at all safe from the devil. It does not matter how organised your religion makes humanly possible sense but all else outside Christianity is from the devil. As a matter of fact, you are in the devil’s plan when you believe not in the only begotten son of God, Jesus Christ.
If by any chance you have watched the television programme ‘1000 ways to die!’, you will note that many of the death cases that are simulated depict people that did things their way and not God’s way. May of such death instances would not befall a Christian who lives a life worthy of Christ. Let me give some examples as given by the website m.imdb.com, I quote:
“#502 Gas-Hole” a biker dies after drinking the gasoline in his motorcycle and throwing up in a fire,
“#1 Ichiboned” a repressed Japanese couple dies from heart attacks when they first make love,
#518 Jake N’ Baked” a narcoleptic dies after falling asleep in an industrial oven,
“#734 Die It” a woman dies after using tapeworms as a diet aid,
“#499 Pained Gun” a boy is killed when a paint ball gun explode into his throat, and
“#283 Deadliest Catch” an electrician fishing with a power line electrocutes himself. It also talks to a survivor of the ocean crash of a hijacked Ethiopian airliner.
“#447 Water Logged” a cliff diver drowns after diving into the water and tearing his colon,
“#302 Funny Boned” a man laughs for thirty six hours and dies of a heart attack,
“#72 Bowed Out” a Japanese man dies of an aneurysm after hitting another man on the head during a bow,
“#277 You’re So Vein” a death row inmate survives a lethal injection but dies shortly after being unbuckled from the gurney,
“#85 Doggie Style” a drunk chokes to death on a hot dog he tried to swallow whole, and
“#403 Heart On” a disturbed man dies when he plugs a cow heart into a wall socket and uses it for a sex toy. It also talks to a man who survived being bitten by a cobra at a snake farm.
If you take a close look at the cases, none identified with Christian living. This means that a true Christian is safe from most of these deadly practices that non-believers unknowingly find themselves exposed to. Nevertheless, non-believers too die at God’s permission because the devil has limits which he cannot pass.
I want to conclude this article by quoting some verses that gives comfort to the believers on that their death is determined by God without any doubt. Furthermore, God is the source of more life and more days whenever a believer requests for more.
- 2 Kings 20:1 – 4: Hezekiah obtained grace from God and had fifteen more years added to his life.
- Job 27:8: For what is the hope (of a person), if GOD takes a way His life?
It is God who takes away life but He is so flexible when it comes to the will of man. He cannot force himself into anyone’s will and therefore would not stop people from killing themselves mistakenly or on purpose.
Facebook
Youtube