28 “Don’t be afraid of those who can kill only your bodies—but can’t touch your souls! Fear only God who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Not one sparrow (What do they cost? Two for a penny?) can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t worry! You are more valuable to him than many sparrows” [TLB].

 Our text begins with Jesus telling us not to fear those who can kill our bodies, but to fear God who can kill both our bodies and souls. It also lets us know that we are more valuable to God and our lives are in His hands. There is nothing about us that takes God by surprise.

It is God and not the devil, who decides when we are born and how long we live. So, as God’s children, we are not to live in fear of the devil or death. We are to love the Lord passionately, spend time with Him and live at the centre of His will for our lives as instructed in Deuteronomy 30: 19 – 20, which says, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

It is important to reiterate that only God knows the length of our days: “Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit. How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog – it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” [James 4: 13 – 17].

We should also bear in mind that life is not just about the here and now, there is the eternity aspect, “…Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own… a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God… For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing…” [Luke 12: 13 – 24]. Life is more than eating and drinking, or the things you gather. This is why Christ asked, “For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” [Mark 8: 36]; because everything gathered will be lost when you die.

Paul the apostle saw life as worth nothing unless he used it to carry out his God-given assignment – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God: “And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” [Acts 20: 22 – 24].

Life is meaningless unless we carry out the will of God, which includes bringing honour and glory to Him, advancing His kingdom on earth and putting smiles on the faces of other people: “For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past… For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better… Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ… Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies… you are going to be saved, even by God himself…” [Philippians 1: 20 – 30].

Christians are not supposed to be frightened by death because it is a doorway into a better life. Death is an appointment, “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgement, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him” [Hebrew 9: 27].

As long as you know the Lord Jesus Christ and you are doing everything you can to live at the centre of His will, there is nothing to worry about – God will take care of your situation.