Guest post by Lucas Dorminy
Death and Being
Death, particularly in our American culture, is a subject of great fear and, at the same time, fascination. No one wants to talk about it until death strikes close to home, and even then the conversation is often laced with uncertainty and anxiety. As Christians, we worship a God who doesn’t shy away from the subject. In fact, death is integral to following Jesus (the conqueror of death). Dying is what we are called to do every single day. However, the modern atheistic mindset has no category for death other than being the instant one “ceases to be”. Death serves no other purpose, and life is but a dot on the global map of purposelessness.
“Ceasing to be” in death begs the question of what it is to “be” at all – a question atheistic philosophers have stumbled over for centuries. Death, for them, cannot be understood, because there is no meaning to “being”. For the Christian, death isn’t “ceasing to be”; rather, death is the gateway to true being. Or, I suppose one could say, death is the gateway to the true Being.
The purpose of “being” (existence) is life in union with the Creator of beings. That is to say, the meaning of life is to be united to God in order to glorify and enjoy Him forever. True man, or true being, is only found in union with God. After Adam’s fall in the garden, man was severed from this true humanity. Since then, this true being is only found in union with the new Man, Jesus Christ, who, being very God and very man, is perfect humanity. This “being” in Christ is only found in the cross of Christ, a place of suffering and death for the life of others. One must lose one’s life to gain it.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
In order for a tree to sprout and bear fruit, a seed must be buried; a seed must die. When you understand that, since Adam, death and glorification go hand in hand, there is no fear in death. This isn’t to say there is no pain. You must pass through the fire and cherubic sword to return to the garden of God where the Tree of Life dwells. Of course, our Lord suffered more than any on His path to His death on the cross. However, He knew that death would bring glory, that He would be crowned King of all creation, because the last shall be first.
In Christ’s death on the cross, death’s purpose is flipped on its head. Death is no longer an undefeatable adversary, but a passage to glory and life in Jesus. The cross is a unique position where one’s feet are nailed toward the earth, hands are stretched out eastward and westward, and head is lifted toward the heavens. This place is where our Lord demands us to go, and go joyfully. A place where one is stretched out between heaven and earth; a place of vulnerability and humility. Isn’t that what death does to the proud, it humbles them? Instead of tirelessly striving to either combat death at all costs or avoid the issue entirely, our Lord demands that we embrace it in faith, knowing that death in Christ leads to new and more glorious life. God gives grace to the humble and opposes the proud; He glorifies the saint who gladly dies in faith, but He humbles the proud with justice.
Atheists know that death is a passage to glory in every way save physical death. For example, an atheist businessman works hard and sacrifices himself (death) for the success (life) of his business so that one day he can retire on the beach for the remainder of his life (glory). He must wake up early and work long hours (denying self) in order to achieve a fleeting glory (comfort until death). This understanding is built into the human experience; it’s a design feature. Everyone knows that sacrifices lead to glories.
However, when you are in rebellion against God, you are attempting to attain glory without death, without humility. This is impossible, because to truly “be”, to truly exist and live, one must be in union with the Creator of life itself. Union with Christ is dying like He did, and loving Him all the way there. This means we have to die every day. This means that we need to look to our own baptisms, our own deaths in Christ, because in it is the promise of resurrection. This means we must deny ourselves and sacrifice for others in love. “Ceasing to be” in the death of Christ can only mean eternal and abundant life. In Christ, death has lost its sting, and life only truly begins when you cease to be.
