Each year at Halloween, I see people decorating their yards with depictions of death. Plastic graves dot the front lawns while skeletons lounge on porches.
Forgotten is the fact that those pieces of plastic convey reality. Graves mark the burial plots of loved ones and one day all people’s bodies will decay, leaving behind only bones.
What is very serious is treated trivially, as mere decorations for celebration.
In many places around the world, people also celebrate Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead). Spanning from October 31 to November 2, the holiday centers on joyful celebration as families remember and honor their deceased loved ones. Often, people make light of death with artsy depictions of skeletons and mock epitaphs.
To make light of something serious seems to be common. Humankind may find comfort and relief in depicting skulls and graves as mere decoration, or by thinking that souls return to communicate with living loved ones.
However, in treating death as a trivial matter, people are downplaying biblical truth and reality. Death is real, and so is the finality of what happens after we die.
What Does the Bible Say about Death?
As harmless as many individuals may think these depictions of death are on Halloween or during celebrations of the Day of the Dead, death is a serious matter.
Scripture teaches that in the beginning, when God created the world, everything was good (Genesis 1:31). Adam and Eve lived in harmony with animals, with each other, and in a close relationship with the Lord.
But then, everything changed. Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:6).
Sin and death entered the world that day, just as the Lord had warned (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12, 15-18). The first humans, who were made to live forever, eventually died.
However, death was not isolated to Adam and Eve. Every descendant of the first humans, which includes all people in history and today, also received the curse of sin and death.
As Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
The entire world has also been affected by sin and death (Romans 8:20-22). We see this in the decay of plants and animals, illnesses, and natural disasters.
Also, all the troubles that plague the world are a result of sin, including war, terrorism, famine, poverty, oppression, hatred, and racism. Because of sin and death, our world is broken.
The Solution to the Problem of Death
Death is in the world because of sin, and our sinful state is intricately tied to what happens to us after death. Scripture teaches that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
This death involves not only physical death but also spiritual death. Since we all choose to do wrong things, we are all guilty of sin and deserve punishment.
There are only two places we can go to after we die: heaven or hell. Unlike the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween, dead souls do not roam around the earth.
Neither do they try to contact their living loved ones on the Day of the Dead. When people die, they immediately face judgment about where they will reside (Hebrews 9:27).
As individuals with an inherited sinful nature from our first parents and who choose to do wrong, we all deserve punishment in hell.
We can never earn our way into heaven through good deeds, offerings, or religious practices. This is why Scripture tells us that we are dead in our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1). We are powerless to change our sinful condition.
Although our situation is severe, God has made a way for us to be free from the punishment of sin and to receive eternal life. The first indication of this plan came directly after the Fall of Man when the Lord promised that the woman’s seed would crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15).
In His love and grace, the Father sent His Son into the world to die in place of sinful humankind (John 3:16). Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, bore our sins on the cross and endured the punishment we deserve (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, sin and death are defeated. Those who place faith in Christ receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life (1 John 5:10-12).
Hell is no longer their destiny. Rather, believers have the wonderful gift of an everlasting relationship with the Lord, which involves living forever with Him.
Taking Death Seriously
Believers have the life-changing promise of living forever with the Lord and receiving glorified, resurrected bodies in the future, but we still experience the pain of death.
Unless Jesus returns in our lifetime, we will all endure death’s sting. Also, we will see those we love die, which brings the pain of grief and loss.
To make light of death ignores the terrible reality that many of us have lost those we loved. Many have died or will die without knowledge of the gospel. Others have decided to reject Christ, choosing hell and sinful rebellion instead of grace (John 3:18).
One day, the power of death will be reversed at the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). However, death is still an enemy that delivers its sting. We cannot ignore the reality of death or laugh in its face.
The only way to face death is to trust in Jesus’ saving work on the cross and His resurrection. He is the Conqueror of death, the One who will defeat the final enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26).
Should People Avoid the Topic of Death?
Rather than trivializing death, we should spend time in serious contemplation of our mortality. As the wise teacher of Ecclesiastes wrote, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2).
The fact that every person will die one day can be frightening. However, we are wise to consider why death exists in the world and what can be done about it — instead of making fun of death.
The Lord, who created all things and made us to be in a relationship with Him, has provided us with the solution to the problem of death.
His solution does not involve trying to communicate with the spirits of loved ones or completing tasks to earn our way to heaven. Instead, He gave us His Son who died a sacrificial death on our behalf. He is the answer to the problem of sin and death.
Believers also need to take time to contemplate the reality of their mortality. We have the hope of eternal life with Christ, but what we do with our life now matters. Are we using our lives to glorify God and make Him known?
Do we give thought to those who do not know Christ or have never heard the gospel? If we believe death is such a serious matter, we will spend our time, energy, and resources to tell people about the saving work of Jesus.
What Does This Mean?
Despite our celebrations that attempt to make death seem like a normal part of life, death is unnatural.
Deep down, many of us sense the unnaturalness of it, which is why death is so often feared. However, it is easier to make death a source of laughter than a topic of serious contemplation.
Instead of trivializing death, we need to recognize our mortality. All people will die, but Jesus has provided us with the gift of eternal life — if we place faith in His atoning death and resurrection. In Him, we will live even though we die (John 11:25).
People may choose to adorn their houses with decorations of death, thinking they are mocking death. But believers know that death, which is tied to the curse of sin, is not something to take lightly or to mock. We place our confidence and hope in Jesus — the Conqueror of sin and death.
For further reading:
Is it Okay for Christians to Talk about Death?
How Should Christians Cope with Death?
Can Christians Be Scared to Die?
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