Hebrews 2:14,15 “…so that by his death, Jesus might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
One in one people die – it is the ultimate statistic. Many fear death, refuse to talk about it, shrink from facing it, do everything to put it off. But it will come, and is not something to be feared. As the verse above makes clear, Jesus has destroyed the devil through his own death, and has freed us from any need to be afraid of death.
An old legend tells of a merchant in Baghdad who sent off his servant one day to the market. It wasn’t long before the servant returned, white as a sheet, and trembling. In great agitation he said to his master: “Down in the market place I bumped into a lady in the crowd, and when I turned around I saw that it was Death that jostled me. She looked me right in the eye and made a threatening gesture. Master, please may I take my leave for a few days? Could you lend me your horse, for I must hasten away to avoid her. I will ride to Samarra and hide there, so that Death can’t find me.”
The merchant complied and watched as his servant galloped off into the distance. Later that day, the merchant went down to the market place and came across Death standing in the crowd. He went over to her and asked: “Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant?” “That wasn’t a threatening gesture,” Death said. “He just caught me by surprise. I couldn’t believe he was here in Baghdad, because I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.”
Each of us has an appointment in Samarra. But there’s no need to flee – in fact it’s futile to flee. So live free from the fear of death today.
Lord, I choose to live free from fear and to share this gift of hope and assurance with those around me today. Amen!
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