Birth & Death

Intro

As we continue in our series we’ll focus on Ecclesiastes 3:2, “a time to be born & a time to die.”

Never have I experienced these two seasons so sharply. At the end of February, my son Wendell was born – here’s a picture of him. Two weeks later we entered a global pandemic that has left thousands dead and disrupted millions of lives, our included. Most of my family has only seen pictures of Wendell and we’re the lucky ones.

But as we think about these two seasons, I want honest about my limits on this topic. I have not yet experienced the death of a loved one. So I’m not going to sermonize or give you trite sayings. Instead I want to draw wisdom from Psalm 139, which has a well of experience much deeper than my own.

Here’s the main idea we’re going to explore: Birth and death reveal God’s caring presence. Let’s see what that means as we look at Psalm 139:13-18.

Birth

In verses 13-16 we get this beautiful picture of God’s intimate involvement in our birth. God is present in every aspect of our creation. Verse 15 says, “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.”

There are a few weeks before even a mother realizes that there is a person growing inside her own body. And the Psalmist says that in those most secret, mysterious moments in the depths of darkness within the womb, God is there with us – actively molding and shaping us, planning our very existence. In those first moments, God is lovingly crafting your life. Verse 16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

God’s intimate involvement in our birth reveals his loving care for us. We can be sure that he’s always present with us because from our birth, he personally formed each day. When considering God’s care for us the Psalmist exclaims, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand.” In context, these countless thoughts of God are about me as an individual! He knows me and has considered every aspect of what makes me, me! And what makes you, you! God knows you fully and completely. He’s been present from the start.

When you stop and think about it: this can be a little scary. We assume that the real me is unlovable: if people knew what I did that time, what I did, what I said, what I thought, they would want nothing to do with me!

Early on in our marriage, I made the mistake of spending more than we had, and I found myself in a little bit of debt. I was so ashamed. I thought, if people found out that I have credit card debt, they’ll think I’m a total loser. My parents will be so disappointed. My wife will be furious. And so I kept it to myself. But of course, sin always grows in the dark. We hit another bump in the road and it became unmanageable for me. I came clean. I told my wife, I told my folks, I told my friends. I said, I’m not looking for money, but I’m so ashamed, and I can’t believe I got myself into this mess.

And you know how they reacted? My wife kissed me and said, “I love you, I still trust you, and we’ll figure this out.” My parents said, “You know what, we made the same mistake and we want to help.” My friends said, “Oh man, us too. I’m so glad you’re being honest.”

No one said you’re a loser, you’re an idiot, how could you, what were you thinking? They just loved me and accepted me, even with all my mistakes.

This is just a tiny picture of how God sees us, knows us, and accepts us. God knows more about you than you know about yourself. He was there when you did that, said that, thought that. And yet verse 17 says that you are precious in the mind of God. This word precious means valuable, delightful, treasured. We have a shocking picture here of God lovingly crafting your life while you’re in the womb, and then at your birth God considers every aspect of your future and he thinks, “precious.”

Let’s pause for a minute and reflect on a couple questions. In fact, if you’re watching this with others why don’t you take a few minutes to discuss them.

How does it feel to know that God has been with you every moment of your life?

How does that change how you approach a normal day?

Death

This week the Wall Street Journal published an article titled, “‘I’m Sorry I Can’t Kiss You’ – Coronavirus Victims Are Dying Alone.” I want to read you an excerpt.

Her father was 83 years old, sweating and gasping for breath. Nancy Hopkins leaned down and rubbed his arm just before paramedics put him into an ambulance. “I’ll be with you every step of the way,” Ms. Hopkins promised him.

That was as close as she would ever again get to her dad. When she arrived at the nearby hospital, she learned she could not go in because of visitor restrictions… She sat alone in her car in the hospital parking lot for hours, crying when she finally drove off.... When [her father] neared death on April 1, Ms. Hopkins said goodbye through a phone, placed in a plastic bag and held to his ear by a nurse.

There is no easy way to read these accounts and to know that God planned every moment of our lives. If God is intimately involved in our birth, then we have to conclude that he’s also intimately involved in our death.

We don’t like to think about it, but there is a time to be born, and a time to die. And right now, we can’t help but think about it. It might seem cruel that God has a plan for your death, but imagine for a moment a world in which death reigns, but God is not involved at all. Isn’t it better to know that your Caring Creator is in control, from beginning to end?

Believe it or not, the Psalmist in 139 sees God in his death when he says in verse 18, “I awake, and I am still with you.”

There’s a beautiful depth to this simple little phrase. When the prophet Isaiah looked forward to the resurrection of the dead in Christ, he wrote this poem:

“The dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!”

Or consider this story of Jesus from Mark 5,

While he was speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” … They came to the house of the rule of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he entered, he said to them, “Why are you weeping? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” … And he said, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up.

Or what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5:13, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

So when we go back to Psalm 139 the picture becomes clear. When the Psalmist envisions his death, he doesn’t see darkness, he doesn’t see despair, he sees the face of God. God is as present with us in death as he is in birth.

God doesn’t say, “I’m sorry I can’t kiss you.” He says, “Awake, I am still with you.”

Because God didn’t just plan for our deaths, he planned for his own. 1 Cor 15 says that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” or said in another way, “he died for our sins, according to the plan.” But the verse goes on, “that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” Jesus was buried with us in death, so that we could be raised with him in newness of life. God doesn’t just plan your death, he plans your resurrection, and he’s with you every step of the way.

And so in every season, from womb to tomb, we can count on the caring presence of God.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and make his face shine upon you.