February 9, 2022

The Equalizer

“…it is appointed for man to die once, and after that…” (Hebrews 9:27)

Joseph Stalin is a card-carrying member of the club of the world’s most feared and ruthless leaders. Historians have written thousands of pages documenting his personal and public acts of terror that killed tens of millions and abused and traumatized even more than he killed. It would have been difficult to figure out whether it was worse for you to be his friend or his enemy since the same fate awaited both.

How could such a little man, from such humble beginnings, arise to such heights of power and accomplish such widespread destruction? It would be a fascinating study if it were not for the oceans of blood that he was responsible for. In the end, Stalin suffered a stroke (though there is some speculation that someone had something to do with that). When he did not get up at his usual time, his aides dared not check on him uninvited. Fear of disturbing him was so intense, even by his inner circle, that Stalin laid on the floor, alone, unable to move or speak for hours. The great Terror of Russia laid in his own urine, powerless to give commands, powerless to act, powerless to will, powerless. (Life has a way of humbling us, and death will add the exclamation point.) Even then, when someone finally went into his room and found him on the floor, the fear of doing the wrong thing stymied everyone from doing anything.

It wasn’t too long after, that Stalin died. Witnesses said that the look on his face at the end was either fear, or anger. It could have been anger since, even for tyrannical monsters like Stalin, it is appointed for man to die, and even he could not command otherwise. It could have been fear, since for tyrannical monsters like Stalin, it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.

Death is the equalizer. It is no respecter of persons. The powerful and the weak, the famous and the unknown, the skilled and the commoner are all brought to the same level. We all face this and everyone we know faces this. Are you ready? Seriously, are you ready? While I could make a case for having your affairs in order for the sake of your family, my deeper concern is that you not pretend that death cannot come or will not come. In fact, you are not truly prepared to live until you are prepared to die.

Stalin tried to pretend that he was God. Death taught him differently. There is only One who is the resurrection and the life. Christ lived and died so that we (who are in Christ) would not fear death, but would see that Christ took out the sting. For the believer, death is a gift that we cannot refuse, that becomes a door that we go through to eternal joy. That is your reality, if you have truly come to faith in Christ.

Some of you have observed how Covid seems to be an excuse for governments and corporations to take away more freedoms and exercise more control. We need to allow these past two years to teach us how we need to be ready to die, so that we can live anew with focus, with joy, and with anticipation.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s text: 1 Samuel 11