I have posted this to both of my blogs this time.
As a Christian, I have the faith in God, that there is a promise of life not death upon the physical death. This is a belief I find hope and comfort in. The idea of death is not anxious creating but freeing, as a Christian. This relief extends not only to my own loss but to the loss of people around me. Loss of someone you know can create a hole in your existence. A familiarity of presence is lost when someone dies. However, the trust in the promise that death has been defeated is greater.
I hear people talk about death anxiety but this is not what I feel. It is not the death but the process of dying that can cause anxiety for me. There are several ways that I absolutely do NOT want to die, given a choice. For me, fire, beheading and drowning are my top three. However, anyone of those three while dying for my beliefs as a Christian, I can take some comfort in. Knowing that I would die for being a Christian is an honorable way to go, but the impact on those left can be extreme.So what if I am wrong? What if my beliefs and faith is flawed? What then? Do I need to fear and become anxious over death? What is it is about death that some fear? Prior to becoming Christian, I did fear death and dying. I did not want to die and lose out what I could live out in life. To die before I could get the most done was an anxious feeling to have. I will lose out of getting and doing of all the things I could get done. For others to die, it was a great loss to see someone not have a chance to do more and be more and be with me and do for me and me for them.
Do I have doubts? Sure, from time to time I doubt. My doubts allow me to question my beliefs and my faith. To prove why I do believe what I do and to strengthen my faith. If I am wrong, I have not lost anything. I have done as much as I can in the name of Christ, in my faith. This in turns allows much to be done for all and thus I did not lose out at all. If I am right, then I have no fear of death and receive life.
“Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.”
― Paul Tillich