Death and taxes

https://odb.org/2025/06/04/tis-a-fearful-thing

Genesis 23:1–4 (NIV): 23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, 4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

There are two things certain in life – death and taxes. Of course, if you live in Brunei or Arab oil producing countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE or some tax haven islands like the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, or BVI, you pay no income tax. But once you travel and start consuming, there will be airport tax and VAT.

But death is a sure certainty. In the bible, only two persons did not experience an earthly death but were taken up to heaven to be with the LORD – Enoch and Elijah. Even Jesus died but rose again 3 days later, conquering sin and death. Lazarus was resurrected by Christ after he was dead for 3 days, but he later still had a natural death. His resurrection did not give him immortality, unlike the resurrection of Christ. It is the latter that is our Hope of glory that we will rise again even if we die, when Christ returns to rule the earth. The second coming of Christ is another certainty, although only the Father knows the exact timing.

Like Abraham grieving over Sarah, we will all face the same grief one day. I have seen the passing of both my parents. We will see more of the passings of our loved ones, relatives, close friends, and acquaintances as we age. Immortality has its own issues as popularised by fictional characters like the Highlander or Count Dracula or even the Norwegian mystical Norse gods of Thor, as we will see many, many more passings of our loved ones over many lifetimes.

What death basically does is terminate the participation of the dead in the affairs of the living. No matter who we are, whether kings, presidents, or just the man on the Clampham omnibus, we are no longer part of the living. For instance, I can no longer ask the opinion or see the reaction of my late father on my latest achievement in life. I can only imagine my late parents rejoicing with me in heaven, and even then, it is pure conjecture. What is certain, though, is that once a man dies, his spirit departs his body and goes back to God. There will be a day of judgment awaiting us, whether it is the Great White Throne Judgment of God or the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ, depending on whether we are in the faith or not.

My message to us today is to hold on tight to the faith that God, in His infinite grace and mercy, has planted in our hearts. Let us always be grounded in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has set eternity in the human heart. Always remember and hold on to the eternal promise of God that we will all one day live in the new heaven and new earth.

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25).