If there was ever any doubt in your mind, rest assured, the final countdown to the end of your days has already begun. In fact, that countdown began at the moment of your birth – perhaps even earlier.

Okay. So, what has that to do with a belief in Christianity?

In fact, it goes beyond Christianity. It has to do with God’s intent for the world we inhabit. While we may struggle to comprehend the mind of God, this particular puzzle may be easier to solve.

There’s only so much room on this planet.

Physical death does not mean the spirit expires as well.

While we may not be able to fully understand God’s plan for this world, we can understand that all living things have the ability to reproduce. Given that concept and, understanding the age of the earth, it is clear that the earth would be unable to sustain an unlimited population of life forms.

Perhaps our maker designed our world to allow for an unlimited number of life forms to have an earthly experience. In that case, God would have planned for a cycle of life that allowed opportunities for that unlimited number of life forms over a period of time.

In other words, God would have created a life-death cycle that achieved that purpose.

Well, that sounds good in theory, but what about the pain and grief associated with the death of a loved one? What about the fear of death that we all experience in our lives?

Once again, we are confronted with the puzzle of trying to understand the reasons and motives of a supreme being who knows all. And once again, we struggle to meld our logic, our experiences, and our Biblical knowledge.

In our contemporary age, we are blessed to have access to numerous accounts of those who have experienced death and returned to life as we know it. And perhaps it is in those accounts that we will find the answers. The most common element of those accounts is the revelation that those who passed experienced a feeling of overwhelming love and peace.

Perhaps God allows us to experience the fear, pain, and grief associated with death as a means of contrast to that joy of peace and love. Perhaps the contrast between the pain associated with death and the infinite joy of the existence beyond death could be compared to a mosquito bite – a minor sting followed by a diminishing itch.

Yes, we are all experiencing that final countdown, but we can embrace that final experience by recognizing that much more, and wonderous experiences lie beyond death’s door. That’s not to say we should rush to that moment, but that we should accept it as a natural and necessary stage in our existence.