I live about a block away from one of the largest and most respected medical systems in Wisconsin. It’s where I held my dad’s hand after the stroke that God used to call him home to heaven. It’s where a family member kept a tearful, prayerful vigil by the bed of her gravely ill daughter until God spared her life with the gift of medical technology and the skill of her doctors. Countless other friends and family members have received care there, hearing news either elating or devastating. It’s a sobering place. 

Despite the billions of dollars spent at this hospital system—on technology, salaries, and infrastructure—it can’t alter the inevitable. No matter who receives care there and no matter how revolutionary that care is, every person who walks through the doors of that amazing facility will someday die. Romans 6:23 is crushing in its finality: “The wages of sin is death.” No wiggle room or space for misinterpretation there.

If you’re still hanging with me, there is good news. The best news. For those who die in Jesus, death is not the end. It’s not the final chapter in your story; it’s only the beginning. Only through death can we enter into the glorious life that is waiting for us—life forever with Jesus, where there is no more death or tears or pain or grim diagnoses. Let’s marvel at the remainder of Romans 6:23: “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Isn’t that the most beautiful “but” you’ve ever heard?