Judges 20,21

21:3 "They said, 'Why, O LORD, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today in Israel?' "

The tribes of Israel mourn over the their recent divinely endorsed decimation of the tribe of Benjamin.

I hate death. I recognize I have not had much exposure to it compare to a lot of people, but last month I lost my cousin and today a good friend from church went to be with the Lord. His name is Gerwin; he was a faithful brother in Christ who, despite his health issues, was always smiling and offering encouragement and good humor. As I contemplated his passing today, it occurred to me that he is fine right now bumping elbows with his Creator and the prophets. It also occurred to me that Gerwin didn't suffer death, but those of us still here do.

Death is separation. I suffer Gerwin's death because I am separated from him and I hate that. I'm happy for Gerwin, sad for myself, and especially sad for his wife. And as I thought about how I hate that separation, I turned my disdain towards sin. Sin caused Gerwin's death. I don't mean Gerwin sinned and God struck him down, I mean this:

"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Cor 15:22)

The Israelites were ordered by God to strike down Benjamin, so why were they sad? They mourned because death is not the way it is supposed to be. Because of sin, death prevails and creates divides we cannot cross. Thank goodness Christ showed his mastery over death on the third day!

But for now, I miss Gerwin. I hate death. Most of all I hate sin for introducing us to death. I do take great comfort that I will get to shake Gerwin's hand again and see him walk without pain or limping. The best thing I have taken from this experience is a deeper hatred for sin and I hope I can apply that to pushing it further and further away from me. I have a better understanding of Paul's cry:

"Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Rom 7:24)

Lord, help me to hate sin. Help me to abhor it for what it did to me, my fellow men, and most of all You. Have fun with Gerwin, he's a real character.