by Tim Hall

As I open the closet, boxes tumble out. Instinctively I am angered, almost as if the boxes had planned this stunt to get my dander up. Then I remind myself that boxes have no ability to plot or scheme; it was the force of gravity working on unstable objects. Even I become unstable as the day wears on. As my energy level drops, gravity's tug is felt more and more. I find it difficult to keep from falling (into my recliner).

There is another downward pull that affects us more strongly as the years pass: the recognition of our mortality. Just as gravity tugs at physical objects, so the grave pulls at our souls as we draw nearer to that dreaded destination. Consider the similarity of those two words: "gravity" and "grave." Both beckon us to lie down in rest.

Job was jolted into sober contemplations of the grave: "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. Oh, remember that my life is a breath! ... As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore" (Job 7:6-7,9-10, NKJV). Job, because of the tragedies that had struck his family, felt the downward pull of the grave, and it was dreadful to him.

In our early years, we give little thought to the issue of mortality. We are young, strong, and full of potential. The world is ours and there is no limit to what we can become. As we age, however, our dreams burst one by one, and limitations settle subtly upon us as dew falls upon the grass. Our thoughts turn more often to the grave. We try to deny the inevitable, or soften it with humor. But the grave will not go away. In all of human history, only two have ever escaped its clammy clutch (cf. 2 Kings 2:1-11 and Hebrews 11:5).

Enter Jesus Christ and a stronger pull upward. Paul declared the glorious news in this way: "... but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10). Immortality? It has long been a dream of mankind. Searches have been conducted for the Fountain of Youth and golden elixirs that keep us forever young. All such pursuits have ended in frustration, however, and the goal of immortality has remained shrouded in darkness. Until Jesus.

If we wish, we may lay aside our fears and frustrations. Jesus came to do away with our dread of the grave. "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14,15). Jesus has ripped open the prison of mortality in which we cowered for so long. Tragically, many -- some of whom are Christians! -- remain inside the cell.

Yes, gravity pulls objects downward. So does the dread of the grave. But Jesus came for the very purpose of releasing us from the downward pull of the grave. His pull -- a blessed pull upward -- is stronger than any other force.