At The Moment Of Death

Don’t be afraid. . . . Take courage! I am here.   Mark 6:50

Try to imagine yourself in a boat with the disciples in the middle of a storm. You look out into the darkness and see a figure walking toward you on the water. What would you be thinking? It’s not surprising the disciples were terrified.

Mark tells us, “When they saw [Jesus] walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘Take courage! I am here’” (Mark 6:49-50). He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed.

That’s a great picture of what happens for the believer at the moment of death. Jesus comes to take you home, and the experience itself may be frightening. Some Christians die peacefully, but others, like the disciples, experience great fear, even though Jesus is near.

If you’ve experienced the traumatic death of a Christian loved one, it may have made you wonder if all was well. Remember the disciples straining at the oars and their terror as they wondered what was happening? What’s important is this: in their moment of fear, Jesus was coming to take them home.

Viewed from earth, death is Christ coming to take us home, but viewed from heaven, death is the moment of arrival. When you arrive in heaven, you will not stand alone in God’s presence. Jesus Christ will stand beside you and present you to the Father. He has promised that if you acknowledge him before people, he will acknowledge you before his Father in heaven (see Matthew 10:32).

We can be certain that when we stand in the presence of God, Jesus will gladly identify with all his people. He will stand with us before the Father and say, “Here I am and the children [you have] given me” (Hebrews 2:13, NIV).

On that day, Jesus’ word will be the one thing that matters. Entrance into everlasting life will not depend on your getting everything right in life. Christ will confess you before the Father, and he will usher you into the joy of everlasting life. That’s his promise, so what is there for you to fear?

For further reading, see Mark 6