King Louis XIV of France was known as the Grand Monarch. He reigned longer than any other king of France, he spent lavishly to gratify his every wish (and nearly bankrupted his nation by his extravagance), but he gave no thought to the inevitable end.
One day he stood at his palace window, complacently viewing his domain. A building he had not noticed before met his eyes, and he asked what that one building might be.
One of his courtiers answered, “Sire, that is the Church of St. Denis, where your royal ancestors lie buried.”
Horror-stricken, the king immediately gave orders for another palace to be planned and built with an entirely different view. He could not bear to live where he might be daily confronted with a reminder of his mortality.
We are a death-stricken race. There is an urgent need for a refuge, a place of safety and security, where death can never touch and where joy and happiness can be everlasting.
Thank God, there is such a refuge. It may be described and summed up in a word-Christ. The Son of God is no stranger to death. He has tasted to the full its bitterness. But because of who and what He is, He triumphed over its power. The life which He lives today is altogether beyond the range of death.
The wonder of it all is that it has been made possible for others to live in that life of His. His death has opened the way for His risen life to be shared by countless millions.
It is a fact that at this moment there are multitudes on earth over whom death has lost its power. Their bodies may be laid temporarily in the grave, but already they have begun to live a life which is eternal, which does not belong to this world at all, and which death can never interrupt.
This secure way of life is open to you. If you will come to Christ, you will find in Him a Deliverer from the power of death. He will introduce you into God’s world of life and joy and peace that passes all understanding.