By what Kind of Death will You Glorify God?
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them. — Psalm 139:16
A few weeks ago, a childhood friend died in a car accident on his way to work on a construction project for his church. Just this week, some other friends had a miscarriage. Meanwhile, my great-grandmother just celebrated her 100th birthday. All of them love Jesus, all of them seek to serve and honor him. At times it can seem like there’s no rhyme or reason to such things, but the Bible paints a different picture:
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. — John 11:5-6
[Jesus said,] “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” — John 11:5-6
Few of us know by what death we will glorify God, but we can be assured of this: everything happens for God’s glory. No matter how tragic, no matter how seemingly untimely, every death brings glory to God in some way. We can catch glimpses of this now, but we may never know the full story until this chapter of life is over. For instance: the couple who miscarried? God is already using them to minister to the people around them. The faith and trust they exhibit as they walk through this trial is strengthening the faith of the believers in their midst. And that’s just this week—only God knows how much fruit will be harvested from this one event.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. — Romans 8:28
It’s enough to make a Christian look forward to the day of his death—the thought that my final act on this earth will bring God glory! What an encouragement! 
March 5th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Death is an enemy. When our enemy defeats us God is not glorified. Death did not defeat Jesus Christ because it had no hold on him and thus God was glorified by this one death. God is light and in him is no darkness at all . . . unless you believe that death is light, putting good for evil. Jesus said “I am come that they may have life . . .” God said that the death of his saints was costly in his eyes. God can’t do anything with a dead body which is why the apostle Paul told the believers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice. You have taken Romans 8:28 out of context; which is prayer and intercession, especially praying in the spirit (1Cor 14:15) which Paul says is speaking in tongues. God Bless . . .
March 5th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Pavlo,
Thank you for your thoughts, but you’re only telling part of the story: death is a defeated enemy! Not only has Jesus defeated death, but through him we are more than conquerors over death (Romans 8:35-39)—it has been made into our servant! Suffering and death are now made to bring about our entrance into the glorious inheritance prepared for us (vv.10-11,16-17) and are powerless to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (v.39)!
You say “God can’t do anything with a dead body,” but the Apostle said in Romans 8:10-11: “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness… he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
You also say I’ve taken Romans 8:28 out of context, but v.28 is not speaking of praying in the Spirit—it’s speaking of the weakness in which the Spirit helps us.
As to Psalm 116:15, it says “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Precious here means costly in the sense of “valuable,” not “injurious.” It is speaking to the worth of his saints’ deaths… and since God’s “currency” is worship and honor, this verse is simply another way of saying that God receives great glory from the death of his saints! Hallelujah!
March 6th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Great thanatopsis. Thanks Travis.
A good related question is “What you like your tomestone to say on it?” Here’s one I’ve kicked around, “A Life Well Lived”. Although I’ve already seriously blown my chances at that claim.
Another I’ve heard is “He understood God’s Purpose for His Generation”.
March 8th, 2007 at 9:01 am
I saw you on MyBlogLog and came to look! I enjoyed reading your blog and hope to visit again!
In Baltimore are you?
I am in Maryland!
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:59 pm
1 Corinthians 15:25-26 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Death, it appears, has not yet been destroyed.
Our weakness in Rom 8:26 is remedied by speaking mysteries to God – speaking in tongues- because our human minds cannot fathom the unlimited abilities of God.
Precious is equal to a great price. We do not go to a better place when we die. We await the return of Jesus Christ while laying in a grave where we cannot glorify God at all.