“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). That sounds like a misprint in the Bible, doesn’t it? “Precious” and “death” don’t seem to belong in the same sentence. Some of you have lost loved ones over the past year. It hurts! Some of you lost loved ones long ago. It still hurts! Some of you feel closer to death now than ever before. The years are adding up. The sickness or cancer has come back. Precious is death? Sounds crazy!
Unless you remember that though death seems like a terrible trick, it results in an unbelievable treat: Life in heaven with Jesus! Because there’s someone who never forgets about his saints: Jesus. In the Bible, a saint is any person who believes in Jesus as her Savior. You’re a saint. I’m a saint. We’ve been made holy and forgiven by the blood of Jesus. Every saint who has died with faith in Jesus is with him now in heaven. What do you call that? “Precious!”
For centuries, Christians have celebrated “All Saints Day” on November 1st. Far from a day to pray to or worship believers from the past, it’s a day to remember and rejoice with our fellow Christians who are now home in heaven with Jesus. So, in the midst of the hurt that death causes in your heart, say a prayer of thanks to God today for one of his “saints” who now rejoices with Jesus in heaven. Because it’s really true: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints!”
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