Death and Taxes?

I believe it was Benjamin Franklin, who, after signing the Constitution of the United States, touted the phrase, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” With the usual tax deadline being tomorrow, April 15, this part of the quote hits home for sure. But what about death? Is death an absolute and sure thing? We just ended our Easter Season with an emphasis on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. So, is death as certain as taxes, or is there a hope of a future resurrection?

In my personal study of God’s Word, things that seem to be certain in this world, are not as depressing as Franklin’s death and taxes. God provides us with spiritual alternatives to life’s dismal details. He provides us with hope and assurance through his promises of an abundant life, as well as, a future resurrection and a new heavens and new earth.

1. In this world, life is full of people problems, but God provides Peace for people problems.

2. In this world, life is full of doubts and insecurities, but God provides Faith for these moments of uncertainty and overwhelming circumstances.

3. In this world, life is full of role changes, but God provides Grace to make the changes needed for living an abundant and purposed filled life.

4. In this world, life is full of disappointments, but God provides Hope in times of disappointment.

I have had people say, that Christians are the stupidest people on the planet. “They conform the only life they have, according to a book that they really don’t know the origin of, and serve a God that they cannot see, and live for a future that they have no evidence for.” But I have discovered that the Bible gives us hope for today and a real future “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, it was for our learning, so that, we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4)

The reason we hope in the face of hurt; The reason we get up with a smile on our face and a song in our hearts; The reason we keep on struggling in the midst of the storm; The reason we keep standing when we feel like sitting down; The reason we get up after being knocked down; The reason we speak up, when the world says shut-up; The reason why we keep trying, when logic tells us to give up; The reason why we press on, when we have been pressed out; The reason we pray in the midst of pain; The reason we are patient in the midst of problems; The reason we bless even when we have been burned; The reason we hang on, when we have been pushed off; The reason we can’t give up; The reason why we won’t give up; The reason is because Jesus has been raised from the dead and He is alive to minister to us in our time of need.

So, what do we need to do? We need to believe in the words of the Resurrection as spoken to Mary by Jesus.

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. believest thou this? (John 11:24,25) People all over the globe are experiencing disappointments, discouragement, and despair from divorce, disease, death and the destruction of war. They are desperate and hungering for some kind of deliverance, at least something different from the routine of suffering and sorrow. I believe they are hungering for Hope. And Hope comes in the form of a person, Jesus Christ, and a promise of His presence and soon coming.

The Truth about the Resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity; the foundation of faith for every believer in Jesus. It is the blessed hope of all the ages, and it involves not just the resurrection of Jesus, at his first coming, but also makes possible the resurrection of all those who have died in Christ, at the Second Coming of Jesus. Paul testifies to this in 1 Cor. 15:20-23. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” Though there is still certainty in having to pay our 2020 taxes, Jesus has revealed to us a real alternative to death. Hallelujah!

Retired Pastor Jim Nichols

Sidney Seventh Day Adventist Church