Graham Nicholson observes the spirit of the current age’s attitude toward death and dying in the Old Testament account of the end of King Saul’s life and offers some timeless observations about what it really is to die with dignity.
The picture of King Saul dying on the battlefield at the end of his life is tragic — a death in fear of what might otherwise be if he should live even for a few hours, and a death to [futilely] escape the consequences of a life lived with a conscious desire to ignore the revealed will of God despite the many religious trappings of state which served daily to remind him to repent and seek the grace of God for his life. By his actions, Saul no doubt thought to salvage what dignity might yet remain in the face of his defeat, yet there can be little dignity in a “life of practical atheism.” In this he epitomizes the approach to death held by so many in our own day: “I will be master of my own fate and I will end it on my own terms.”
How different the death of those who die with a faith grounded in the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ…
Read the rest at Hawthorn Presbyterian Church Blog.
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