And so Christians too must die. The sting of death and sense of God's judgment is a horrible punishment on those who have no faith in Christ as their Savior. They face, at the end of their life, only the prospect of an unknown future, or a terrifying vision of eternal damnation. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. These familiar words of Psalm 23 chart the direction for a Christian individual or family facing the reality of death.
Fear is natural.
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, the One who laid down His life for the sheep, is our companion on the dark, winding road that leads through the valley of the shadow of death. The journey is not optional. Sooner or later each of us, no matter how old or young, will walk that path. The One who is with us in that journey, who leads us on, bears the scars of death in His living body. He was dead, but now He lives forevermore.