OUR HOPE IN DEATH AS WELL AS LIFE
On the 28th of June, 2018, which for me typing this was yesterday, was one of the bloodiest days of recent times, and has been given the hashtag #Dark Lagos on social media. On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, there was a horrible accident involving a petrol tanker, in the chaos of the incident, the tanker spilled its contents and went up in flames, the explosion destroyed at least thirty cars along with their occupants, you can read preliminary reports on the incident here.
If you have watched the videos, you can see the thick smoke and fire stretching for many meters in both directions, it was a horrible sight. The image of what could have happened to the victims makes it hard to watch, and you could only imagine the shock and sorrow of those who witnessed the tragedy.
This seems to be a pattern on this stretch of road that has taken many lives in the past, and I cannot imagine it worse than this, although it could have been.
While we wait for more details, the response of Nigerians for their fellow countrymen, in and outside social media, has been one of shock. I’m sure many of us that live in Lagos pass this road, and we realize we could have been part of the victims, in fact I’m sure those who escaped this disaster by minutes or even seconds would be thanking their lucky stars, and the fear of their own death would surely dawn on them. I myself wondered how I would react in such a situation, I’m sure those closest to the incident died instantly, but death, even if instant, is still scary, a feared enemy of those that live.
In our thinking, we probably wondered about our death and how it would be, and many would instantly recoil at the chills it brings, we don’t want to die, even if it is inevitable. When we see such death around us, the proper response is sorrow, but sorrow need not consume us, for we have hope, the hope of resurrection. Before anybody say that I’m very disrespectful and ask what hope is there for a charred husk of a dead body in the aftermath of an unfortunate explosion, let me say that I’m not trying to downgrade the severity of this tragedy, it is sad, and it makes me angry that so many had to die needlessly. When I lost a close friend last year I cried so much, and I’m sure I didn’t weep as much as her parents and I’m also sure I didn’t weep as much as those who find out they lost someone in this recent incident. But even in your tears, there is hope, the hope of resurrection.
Someone conquered death, and he said just as he did, we will also overcome death. He is the way to life, eternal life. Eternal Life is not just infinite time, or the gift of long life, most of the great early Christians didn’t live long lives. The Apostle Paul was deserted by his disciples in his last days, was tortured and finally beheaded. Many other unnamed believers were burnt alive, that includes children, for their faith, our very Lord Jesus was executed unjustly in his thirties.
But there was a promise, the promise of death’s defeat, and Jesus did defeat the enemy of Life. He was reborn from the grave the glorified man on our behalf, proclaiming: "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" (1Corinthians 15:55), and it is written: “As he is, so are we in this world” (1John 4:17). Yes many may die horrible deaths, yes many will die peacefully, yes we will all die one day, but we have hope, for us and our loved ones, that our Redeemer lives, that Jesus has us and them in the palm of His hands, that no matter what, He is our hope in death and in Life, forever He is our King and savior, the one who was pierced by death, but still lives, the one who entered the grave a dead mass of flesh, and arose a glorious man. In him is our resurrection, and he will lead us from death to Life.
Yes we should mourn our dead, and it is never easy to move on, but we need not sorrow forever, prepare for your great reunion, reminisce with expectancy that Jesus has them and he will bring you together again, there is still gold to be made from your ashes, if not in this life, then the next.