When you die, will folks celebrate your death or your life?
 

"But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel." – Matthew 2: 19-21

He had been on a downward trajectory for a long time and with increasing velocity. Evil had gained a foothold in his life and he, with all his brilliance, had become a hindrance to anything good in the world. Evil takes hold of us that way.

Herod did not understand this principle at all: Don’t entertain evil for a minute. It doesn’t want to visit. It wants to move in and take over.

So, the only cure for the evil in Herod’s life was the death of Herod.

No one was safe until Herod was dead. It is a sad commentary, but true. As long as Herod lived and carried out his rain of pain and reign of terror, the true King of Israel remained in Egypt. Good news was stifled by sound of hoof beats as soldiers scoured the land to snuff out the life of any baby that just might be the Messiah.

Something had to give; something had to die. Only when Herod was dead was it safe for Joseph to bring his family out of Egypt and into the land of Israel.

The truth is that we all die sooner or later. We do not know that Herod died sooner. We just know that he died and his death paved the way for the next thing that needed to happen. 

We would like to think that our deaths would be mourned, but we suspect that Herod's brought sighs of relief for the common people.

It was not time for Jesus to die. He still had to grow up and live a redemptive life before He died a redemptive death It was time for evil to die and Herod had so immersed himself in evil that he had begun to personify it within himself.

There remained a window of opportunity for Herod as there remains such an opportunity for each of us.

We also must die. Evil knows no limits. It will not restrain itself. Therefore we must die to evil thoughts, evil deeds, and evil intentions. Furthermore, we must deem every action that restricts the reign of Jesus, every thought that keeps Him in Egypt, and every intention that wars against Him as evil that must die inside of us.

Because of the cross, we can choose to die that we might live. We can reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ. We will die to sin or we will die in sin.

Live in such a way that the only celebration at your death will be a celebration of your life.

Either way, The Son of God will not remain in Egypt. He shall reign.