14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Jesus’ death and resurrection have the power to free us from our fear of death. Satan has held that fear over people’s heads since the Fall. People have done all manner of stupidity trying to rid themselves of that fear. Animals have been sacrifice, prayer wheels spun, pilgrimages made, self-deprecating acts, incense burned. All these and countless more have been done with one purpose in mind: people want peace after death and Satan has held captive those who don’t trust in Christ. We, however, don’t need to fear. Christ’s death can frees us from that fear. We can choose to hang on to the fear, but why? All the consequences of sin have been paid for in Christ. We have nothing to fear in death. Jesus shared in our humanity in order to take away Satan’s power over people. The one tool Satan has is fear. Jesus destroyed the devil. He took away his one effective weapon. For the Jesus-follower there is no need to fear. Jesus has set us free from that fear. The prison doors have been swung wide open. All we need to do is walk out into that freedom and enjoy the fresh air. I can honestly say I am not afraid of death. That is not to say I am not afraid of dying. The process of dying, with its accompanying miseries, is not on my “top ten favorite experiences I want to go through” list. But when I think about the moment after my last breath, I have absolutely no fear. I have peace. How about you? Do you have that peace?
The Arnold Journey 