God’s View of the Death of the Righteous

Mike Johnson

Dealing with the death of a loved one can be one of the greatest agonies that a person has to face. We think of the death of a loved one in terms of heartache, tears, sorrow, and pain. Yet, Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” So, let us consider how the death of one of God’s saints is “precious” in His sight.

Whereas the death of a loved one causes us to have sorrow and pain, God has a different perspective. The verse above looks at death more from the perspective of God. He is delighted when a person becomes a Christian. Indeed, there is rejoicing in heaven. We can also say God is pleased when He sees the new Christian progressing from a newborn babe in Christ to a mature Christian. Parents rejoice when their children achieve various goals, such as earning their high school diploma. God rejoices when we reach the end of our lives as faithful Christians.

When we die, we are “going home” to God. According to Philippians 1:23, Paul contemplated death near the end of his life and stated that he had a desire “to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” (Note also 2 Cor. 5:6-8.) Those who die in Christ are going home to their heavenly Father.

We may refer to death as a “departure,” and in a certain sense, it is. There was once a tribe in Africa, however, who referred to death not as a departure but as an arrival. They were looking at death from heaven’s standpoint.

Losing a loved one is very difficult. But, if we can look at our loved one’s death as God does and look at their departure as precious, then perhaps we can be comforted when our loved ones die who are faithful Christians. We will probably still feel “sorrow upon sorrow” (Phil. 2:27), but we should also look at their death as God does. Their departure is precious to the Lord.