Facing Death with Peace in Your Heart
Facing death during this coronavirus pandemic - or at any time - does not need to be a fearful experience.
Hello, my name is Ernest O 'Neill. I'm originally an Irish immigrant, and I came from Belfast back in 1963-64 when Kennedy was assassinated. I'm an ordained Methodist minister from Ireland and a schoolteacher teaching English literature. And I've done both since I've been in America. I just wanted you to know a little about me - that I'm not a mad, crazy guy.
I am concerned about you because you're about to face death. I've often faced death with dear friends and with congregational members. I wanted you not to be afraid and wanted you to know the situation -- what is really the truth. The truth is you and I were both made by a dear Father. That's who he is. Our Creator is a dear Father who has a Son that he loves. His name is Jesus. He made us so that we could be part of their family. That's why we were created.
If you say to me,"Why did he send us to earth?" Well, he wanted us to want to love him and to decide whether we did want to love him or not - because he knows you can't compel people to love you. So he put us on the earth to give us a chance to decide, "Is this the kind of God we would like to be with forever?" He allowed us to do what we wanted. We all know what we did. We've all done different things that have been not right or bad. But all the time, he has been merciful to us, and forgiven us, and loves us and still wants us to live with him forever. So that's why we're here.
You are here to become the kind of person that he wanted in his family. He wants you now to be part of that family. His dear Son and He are looking out for you. Here's the best information I could get, "You are God's workmanship, made in Christ Jesus for good works which I have prepared beforehand that you should walk in them."(Ephesians 2:10)
A New Universe Ahead
That's what it is. God has things for you to do in the new universe and for me to do that he has prepared us for. He has worked on us through these years. Whatever your attitude to him has been, his is still the same to you. "You are my workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10), and I want you to come and help my Son and me in developing this new universe."That's what death is about. It's moving from one life into another real life. I wanted you to have that peace in your heart.
The important thing is I don't want you to be afraid. I want you to know that there's a dear Father who made you and me. He is looking forward to us joining him in the new universe -- which from what we hear about these light years, you remember -- the star that is so many billion light years away -obviously, it's a big universe. It's an eternal universe! That's what he's looking out to bring you into so that you can be part of the development of that universe.
So I hope that death - Jesus says, it's not death, it's going to sleep -- the going to sleep will be easy for you. Above all, I hope that you look forward to meeting your dear Father. God bless you.