Death Valley....Tuesday

9/10/13

Sipping our iced teas, my friends were discussing their travels as we sat in the shade of an umbrella on the patio.  “Have you ever been to Death Valley?” asked one.  “No, just the name is enough to make me shudder,” said the other.  “Well," the first one continued, "We haven’t stayed there; we just drove through, and it seemed lifeless alright.  
Their comments reminded me of what King David said about death when he wrote the 23^rd Psalm so I mentioned it. “Refresh my memory,” said one of my friends.

David (he wasn't king yet) wrote in Psalm 23:4 NASB:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

What I shared with my friends and what encourages me every time I think of this verse is the use of the word through in the first line. Death is a valley, a dark space or path, not our final destination. Well, let me rephrase that - it’s not the final destination for Christians because we believe in Jesus Christ who overcame the power of death with His resurrection.

While we were on the death topic I asked my friends if they would be interested in hearing about the 3 definitions of death I had recently learned: Romans 6:23a NASB:

For the wages of sin is death

1) The price to be paid for our sin is spiritual death; keeping in mind that death isn’t annihilation, it is separation.  Just as sin separated Adam from God, and drove him from the presence of God out of the Garden, sin separates us from God (see Isaiah 59:2). The only way back to God is to confess our sins to Him (see 1 John 1:9), and forsake our sins (see Isaiah 55:7) so that we may be restored to fellowship with God. 

(2)  “The penalty of our sin is physical death.  Physical death is a result of sin.  Death had no claim on man until Adam sinned.  Now all die, because we are all from Adam, so we are all in sin (see Romans 3:23).  All people die – the good and the bad – the young and the old –and we will continue to die until the Lord Jesus Christ destroys this last enemy, which is death (see 1 Corinthians 15:26) and is swallowed up in victory (see Isaiah 25:8).

3)  “The cost to us for sinning is eternal death. The person who sins will die (see Ezekiel 18:20a).  This death is everlasting separation from the love of God (see Revelation 20:14).  Once the soul passes beyond the portals of Hell, he/she is lost and lost forever.  He/she will continue to exist, but without hope or relief.  He/she will suffer for all eternity (see Luke 16:19-31).  Eternal death is eternal separation from God (see Luke 16:26).  

We were a quiet and thoughtful group for a few minutes when one of my friends looked at me with tears in her eyes and whispered, "I have gone too far..." before choking back a sob. With tears in my eyes, a tightness in my throat, and a heart full of compassion and empathy, I assured her that all of us have "Gone too far!" (see James 2:10).

 We are separated from God – BUT GOD WANTS US BACK!  We can’t become holy as He is holy  – But  - GOOD NEWS!  He has to come to rescue us! (see John 3:17). We must turn away from our wrongdoing and selfish habits (see Jeremiah 25:5). But God does the rest. In fact, when we choose God, and accept Jesus Christ as Lord, and all He has done for us, nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, will ever separate us from Him again. 

 And I am convinced that nothing can ever 
separate us from God’s love.
 Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
 neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -
not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
No power in the sky above or in the earth below-
indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able
 to separate us from the love of God
that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 NLT

A song for all of us who have fallen too far to love:
"You Are More" written and performed by Tenth Avenue North:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwtcwQwgdsA

Written by
Sandy Schott