Your Reaper need not be grim

The column is changing slightly in that while I’ll still be writing on a wide range of themes from Scripture, I will also examine a number of secular quotations from a Christian worldview.

There is an old saying that speaks of life and death in this way: “We don’t beat the Grim Reaper by living longer but by living well.” I am sure that most everybody would agree with this observation, but I wonder about this the “Grim Reaper” part of it. And it has nothing to do with my starting a 97th year in a month on so.
       I understand that Grim Reaper is a personification of death, but I want to question whether it has to be “grim” — that is, “ghastly, gruesome, ominous, foreboding.” Of course, scripture does teach that the fate of the unbeliever will be grim, but that is a matter of choice for everyone. The same Reaper will, for the believer, be anything but grim. Paul writes that “to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21), and that death is “to be at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). Now THAT is not a grim prospect no matter how you look at it.
       According to the quote, we are considering death as one who “reaps,” that is, one who experiences the consequences for the way they have lived. Those who have lived for themselves will reap more of the “self” they chose over Christ. That particular self is part of the universal Self that has brought so much sadness and stress into life. In fact, it is true that the basic problem that began in the Garden of Eden – when Adam and Eve decided to go it on their own – is ultimately responsible for all that has gone wrong in the world. Although made in God’s image, man promotes his own welfare whether in a line at the grocery store or in a decision to use his power to accomplish some much larger personal benefit.
       Since we reap what we sow, the view of death as a Reaper is certainly on target. But the personification doesn’t need to reflect the dark side of life. Those who plant their life in the rich soil of service for others will experience the joy of a life well lived. When this Reaper comes to take the active believer back home it will be a time of celebration and joy. When I hear of funerals or memorial services being considered as occasions for mourning, I have to ask myself if those in charge have caught on to the wonderful truth of God’s eternal plan for everlasting joy.
       On one occasion a number of years ago I was sitting in the emergency room at the local hospital waiting for the doctor to – for the second time – shock my heart with two electric paddles. I knew it was dangerous, but at the same time I was experiencing a sweet peace that led me to say expectantly to my family, “This may be the time!” My heart was at rest – not the one that was beating irregularly at about 185 beats per minute – and I found myself looking forward to what lay just ahead. I take no credit for my positive outlook, it just happened that way. The Reaper that came by that day was anything but GRIM.