We struggle with the idea that, one day, we’ll die. And that’s understandable. It’s full of unknowns. What will it feel like? Will I suffer? Will it hurt? Will I know what’s happening? Nobody can answer those questions for us. Even Jesus, who knew with absolute certainty that He would be returning to His Father in Heaven, was almost overwhelmed by the thought of the pain and suffering He’d have to face as He went through the process of dying. His human nature was so weighed down by it, that He prayed ‘if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me’ (Matthew 26:39 NIV). But death itself held no terrors for Him. And as Christians, we don’t need to fear death either. After Lazarus died, Jesus told his sister Martha: ‘I am the resurrection and the life…Everyone who…believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this?’ (John 11:25-26 NLT). When we accept Jesus as our Saviour and make Him the main focus of our lives, the fear of death can have no hold over us. We’ll still have to go through physical death, but it has no effect on our spiritual life. Jesus made this promise to us: ‘Because I live, you also will live’ (John 14:19 NIV). So we can be sure that when we commit our lives to Him, our spiritual life will carry on eternally with Him in heaven. Today, Easter Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death. His resurrection proves that death has been beaten. Starting from today, let’s refuse the fear of death and respond to Jesus like Martha did: ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God’ (John 11:27 NIV).

What Now?
If you haven’t already, have a read of Matt Summerfield’s article about why we should share the Good News of Easter. (You’ll find it on page 58, or online at ucb.co.uk if you’re reading this on email.)