I met a retired pastor this past weekend who asked me if we had published any articles in Ministry on “How to die well.” His question startled me at first, then caused me to do some deep personal reflection. How do you die well? Death is an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). Even when people long to experience rest from extended suffering, they are never happy to be separated from those they love. Death is always an unwelcome intruder.

So how then do you die well? My answer is simple: when the end draws near and my time has come, I will not embrace death. Rather I will continue to embrace the One who has conquered death (Revelation 1:18). In Him, death has lost its sting; in Him the grave has lost its victory (1 Corinthians 15:55). We die well when we take our final breath resting in the loving care of the One who loved us and gave Himself for us (John 10:11,28; Galatians 2:21).

I’ll share these thoughts with that retired pastor the next time I see him. I know him well. He’s my father.