Afraid To Die?

And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.  And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. [Revelation 12.11]

There is not much that I understand about the Revelation as presented by John in the Bible.  However, the statement above heard shouted across the heavens seems to clearly point to those who are God's own people.  And, what God's people did in this instance was to overcome the enemy of God by their shameless vocalization of Jesus Christ and His cross.  In so doing, they risked life and limb and yet, approached it fearless of death.

Now here is  message for believers everywhere!  True believers will be identified by their fearlessness in the face of death.

So I must ask myself, "Am I in a relationship with God of sufficient intensity so as to fear nothing?"

"Am I in such a relationship with God that negates any negative connotation associated with death?"

"Am I afraid to die?"

Fear of death signifies one single but devastatingly serious flaw in any individual: that fearful person loves life to the degree that overshadows his or her purported relationship with God.

Ouch.

We must all review our relationship with God daily.  One major litmus test for so doing is the test of the prospect of death - are we fearful of death?  I hear people say all the time that they are not afraid of death but admit they do not "cherish the thought" of the process of dying.  My question to such Christian double speak is this: what is death for the Christian if it is not the process?  The true believer in Christ, unless Christ returns and snatches them away while they are still alive, must pass through the passageway of death to enter what awaits on the other side!  Why, if the goal is to get to where God is, would we not embrace and even anxiously anticipate 'going through the door' to get to our destination?

It is a good question that has been posed here.  I am faced with considering my own answer to it today!

Father, as I have on so many occasions, I have once again 'painted myself into a corner' with my questions.  I have asked here some questions the answers to which implicate me negatively.  I am faced with my own love for life and whether it outweighs my love for You.  Please forgive me for making an idol of myself (ie. making myself more important than You).