Death, where is thy sting?

Recently I updated my will. At the same time I found myself reading another book on heaven and earth and the hereafter. I think both set me to pondering my own mortality, as well as how others may view theirs. I think that most people (at least those I've talked to- not a scientific sample, but pretty consistent) find it difficult to talk about death or what is to become of us after this life... There seems to be a fear and uncertainty in most folks, and a desire to cling to this life as long as possible. Even fellow Christians seem unsure of their future. I think man has troubled over this issue from the beginning.

This leads me to wonder why so many of my fellow Christians fear death so much. If indeed they believe the Bible is true then they should find comfort and peace at the thought of leaving this world. The Bible clearly says death has lost its victory, its sting, for Christians. We have an opportunity to leave this broken and sinful world. We will leave pain and sorrow behind. We will receive a new and glorified body- recognizable and uniquely ourselves, but different.  Christ just appeared and disappeared in a locked upper room with his new and glorified body, he just appeared to the two on the road to Emmaus- how cool is that? And we're told we will have new bodies. We will be reunited with our loved ones who went on before us, previous believers in God from all ages past. How cool is that?

I totally understand Paul's statement that he longed to go "home" (or be done on this earth) but would continue to run his race until that time that God called him home. Earlier in my life I worried that I might die before my children we raised and grown and on their own. It's been several years now since my daughter married and moved out on her own. She was my baby, the youngest of my three. Now all are on their own with their own families started and I feel content that my work here can be done. Like Paul my desire is to see beyond that curtain of death, to lift the veil and be united with my God and Creator- how cool will that be!? Death is not an end of this life, it is the rebirth into a new and wonderful life, free of evil and sin and brokeness. It is a reunion with loved ones, but most important, a reunion with our Heavenly Father. Being a Christian doesn't mean living life by a bunch of rules and "do's and don'ts", it means we recognize our sinfulness, repent, and accept the gift of eternal life given us by Jesus' death and ressrection. It means that we will live on after this life- whether in heaven or here on this re-glorified earth I don't know- but I do know it will be in the presence of my Heavenly Father, the Uncreated... It beats the hell out of this life, that's for sure!
Food for thought...