Should We Fear Death?

Those who believe and do righteous deeds have no reason to fear death. Although it appears to us as decomposition and the extinction of life and its pleasures, in fact it is no more than a discharge from the heavy duties of worldly life, a change of residence, and a transferral of the body. It is an invitation to and the beginning of everlasting life.

As the world is continually enlivened through acts of creation and predetermination, so is it continually stripped of life through other cycles of creation, determination, and wisdom. The death of plants, the simplest level of life, is a work of Divine artistry, like their life—in fact, it is more perfect and better designed. When a fruit pit dies underground, it seems to decompose and rot away. But in fact, it undergoes a perfect chemical process, passes through predetermined states of re-formation, and ultimately grows again into an elaborate, new tree. This shows clearly that death is the beginning of a new and more elaborate life.

The “death” of fruits, vegetables, and animal flesh in a person’s stomach causes them to rise to the degree of human life. Thus, their death can be regarded as more perfect than their lives. Since the death of plants is so perfect and serves such a great purpose, our own deaths must be even more perfect and serve a still greater purpose. After all, we occupy the highest level of life. Given this, we certainly will be brought into eternal life.

Death discharges us from the hardships of worldly life. This turbulent, suffocating, and narrow dungeon, which becomes more difficult to endure with the onset of old age and illness, admit us into the Eternal, Beloved One’s infinitely wide circle of the mercy. There, we will enjoy the everlasting company of our loved ones and the consolation of a happy, eternal life.