Do You Fear Death?

Why? Do you love God? Do you love His commandments? Do you love your neighbor? Then you have nothing to fear. Jesus took on the burden of all our sins. We have only to accept His love and reform our lives. Love of Christ casts out fear. An Easter homily by Pseudo-Chrysostem puts death in proper perspective:

...the types and images of the past prefigured the perfect and eternal reality which has now been revealed. The presence of what is epresented makes the symbol obsolete: when the king appears in person no one pays reverence to his statue. How far the symbol falls short of the reality is seen from the fact that the symbolic Passover celebrated the brief life of the firstborn of the Jews, whereas the real Passover celebrates the eternal life of all mankind. It is a small gain to escape death for a short time, only to die soon afterward; it is a very different thing to escape death altogether as we do through the sacrifice of Christ, our Passover.

If you love Jesus and His commands, you have nothing to fear. The law of God is for our good like the instruction manual for your car. Would you try to run your car on vinegar? The law of God is the instruction manual for a happy life, and death is the door that leads to paradise if you use that manual and follow its instructions!