Day 2747 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Romans 8:13 NIV

Do it now.

That's been the basic consensus of our last few posts. We've talked a lot about that dreaded "d" word that most of humanity goes out of its way to avoid having to admit is a reality. But the fact of the matter is that death is in fact a part of each of our stories. There's no buying, begging, or bartering our way out of the fact that this earth will one day cease to be our home. Death is only scary because it has this sense of finality that weighs awfully heavy on the human mind. But when we look at what it's finalizing, we can maybe learn to see it as not the end but the start of something better.

You see, to many death means the end of life. No more sunrises. No more parties. No more ice cream cones. Just a complete ceasing to exist. But that's the world's understanding of it. This place sells this lie that our lives in this place are all that matter. We're led to believe that these years we have on this globe are all we get. And so people live as if they need to do whatever they can to enjoy this life as much as possible with the understanding that they get no second chances and there is nothing after this.

And we see this truth manifesting in the rampant sin, selfishness, stupidity, and lack of seriousness that defines much of how the masses live. People all around are living like their only mission is to have as much fun as possible and to avoid anything and anyone who dares mention the idea of that fun coming to a screeching halt someday. People have chosen to believe that lie that this is all there is and they're living their lives chasing as much worldly pleasure and treasure as they can get.

Yet what they don't see due to the blinding appeal of those worldly lies is that living according to their selfish, worldly, and fleshly desires is what's going to bring about a death that is more terrifying than any of us could imagine. We think we fear death just because it signals the end of this earthly life, but for those who choose to forgo Christ's offering of salvation, their death signals the start of a kind of misery no mortal mind could fathom.

That's really what people are afraid of when it comes to the topic of death. Deep down it's not the ending of this life because we can all agree that neither this life nor this world are anywhere close to perfect. No, what people fear when it comes to death is the realization that they'll no longer be able to avoid the truth that they've spent an entire lifetime avoiding. They'll have to face the music, pay the piper, bend a knee, and accept their fate. And when you know deep down that the things you're doing and the life you're living just ain't right, then you also know that judgement day won't be much fun.

Thankfully, as we kind of touched on yesterday, there's another way. There's another way to look at death. There's another perspective from which we can see the air of finality that death carries. We can see it as the finality of our worldliness. We can choose God's opportunity to put to death all that is warped, wicked, and wrong within our hearts and lives. We can accept the gift of repentance that brings salvation. We can admit that we have erred and done wrong in the eyes of our Father and set our hearts to doing away with all those vile practices.

That's exactly the lesson we find here in Romans 8:13. Those who live according to this flesh and the space in this world in which it currently occupies, death will in fact end up being something to fear. Allowing worldliness to continue to be our modus operandi will bring all those things we've not wanted to acknowledge or consider. All the sinfulness within the hearts of the unrepentant will mean that their debt remains and must still be settled on the day of God's righteous judgement. And no matter how much they may try to avoid or ignore it, that bill's coming due someday possibly soon.

But for those who humble themselves before God and accept His merciful gift of Christ's sacrifice, we find that debt is already paid. That's the message of the cross. The Son of God took our debt, bore our sins, and settled our waywardness in the eyes of God. He who knew no sin took our sins upon Himself so that we might become the righteousness that is required by our Heavenly Father. He traded our brokenness for His perfection, our flaws for His immaculacy, and in doing so, He died our death leaving us nothing at all to fear.

Friends, death is a heavy thing because it does mean that something ends. That can either be the end of the raucous time we've had living it up according to all the ways of this fallen world. Or it can be the end of this world controlling our hearts and minds as we take them back and give them to the One who fashioned them. As I said a few days ago, we're going to lose these lives one way or another. And we're going to find joy and satisfaction one way or another. Joy and satisfaction now with death later. Or death to self now and joy and satisfaction in being welcome into God's eternal presence later.

As you weigh this decision I pray that you'll keep one thing in mind: This world has a lot of fun and excitement and pleasure to offer, but it cannot come close to competing with what we're being offered in Christ Jesus. It can be hard to see that now as we watch a world loving every second of their carefree sinful lives. But again, a bill for that fun will come due someday, and we don't want to be the ones left trying to pay it because there is nothing we can do or say that can make up for all the wrongs we've done.

We'd better humbly take Christ up on His offer to square our debt and save our souls because we cannot do what He did to accomplish that. Our sins owe a death. It can be yours, but Jesus says it doesn't have to be. Please lose the world. Shake off the dust. Turn back to God. Accept Christ into your heart. Start learning His ways and seeking His wisdom.

Do it now.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold