Mike’s Musings …
The Death of His Saints
Our emotions this past week were intense. While losing any loved one brings an indescribable sadness to those who shared that life, there is also extraordinary joy in knowing souls who died in the Lord (Revelation 14:13). No, it is not within our authority to pass eternal judgment on any soul (John 5:22); it is our responsibility to “judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). By the lives our loved ones lived, we can determine their righteousness or wickedness (Matthew 7:15–27). From what we observed in the lives of two precious souls we knew well, righteousness was evident, and by our judgment, they died in the Lord! Therefore, within this publication, we have strived to honor their lives appropriately.
It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Therefore, it is righteous of us to prepare for the death of the flesh, and the judgment of the soul that dwells but for a little time in this tabernacle. As a wise man once said, ‘No one is prepared to die until he first prepares to live.” As the inspired apostle Paul wrote, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1 Corinthians 15:9) Righteous souls prepare to live eternally with God (1 John 5:13), and this knowledge of hope remains as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast, even as we enter into the veil (Hebrews 6:19). Obedience to God in all we say and do (Colossians 3:17) grants us this hope and is what we saw in the faithful lives of those who entered into their eternity this past week.
I muse on our lives – I muse on my life – and ponder its righteous reception and retention of this secure hope!