And death shall have no dominion.
Dead man naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.
Dylan Thomas

When we think about death, our first inclination is to be sad – to grieve for those we lose and wonder how we will survive without them – to know that they have departed from this earth forever.

As I grow older, I think about death quite often. I think about my own death – the death of a loved one or dear friend – the emptiness created by that loss. I think about the relationships built over the years and what it will be like without them. We want to hang on to this life forever because of that and because we might be afraid of what lies ahead.
Death is a word we like to put away and not think about, but it is inevitable, even for those in the best of health. Death was not an option until sin entered the world. We need someone to rescue us from the darkness – a Savior – a Redeemer. God provided that deliverance for us.

For the Christian, death is not an ending. Our faith in Christ is what leads us to Him. Faith alone will bring eternal life – in new bodies, free from pain. There will be no more tears for those who go before us, only for those left behind. The sadness will linger and eventually be replaced by fond memories of the one who has passed into eternity. This is our life assurance policy from God Himself. Death will no longer have dominion over us.

Romans 6:5 “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.