There is a lot of good news that comes from being a believer! If you put on Christ and are baptized into His life, besides partaking of His goodness here on earth, when you die, you won’t have to taste death. You see, for the Christian, death is more liking waking up than it is falling asleep; this is one of the most profound gifts of living in the Kingdom of God.

Among the most potentially debilitating (albeit sometimes subconscious) fears in this life is that of death. There is a nagging and underlying anxiety about what happens after we die that potentially drives a lot of bad decisions and even much of the brokenness and sin in our lives. However, when we are saved, we receive something precious from the Lord — a calm and confident assurance of Heaven. I once had a friend and personal trainer who I kept inviting to come to church, but his response to me was, “If I came to church, my horns would get caught in the door.” Unfortunately, this is what too many people think when they contemplate surrendering their life to the Lord. They believe that the things they say, do, or have done disqualify them from the Kingdom of God, and this breeds an even greater fear of death!

Friend, as Augustine said, “There is no saint without a past, and no sinner without a future.” This is the Good News of the Gospel! No matter what mess-up, sin, failure, or habit seems to hold you back in this life, you are not disqualified from your Heavenly inheritance. You can relax and know that when the moment of your last breath comes, you will enter the presence of your friend Jesus, and He will take your hand in His and welcome you home. As you choose to embrace the work He finished through His death and resurrection, your mind, body, and spirit are released from the gripping fear of your own mortality and you are free to soar! Isn’t that wonderful news?