Why is death so frightening?

Source: Good News Magazine

Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me
The carriage held but just ourselves, and immortality.
Emily Dickinson (1830–86) - American Poet
 
The opening verse of this poem states in simple terms the inevitability of death and how we all try to put off the inevitable as much as possible. The younger we are the less we think about it, as we get older and our bodies start showing the signs of ageing and mortality the more likely we are to think about it.
 
The terrorist attack in London in July 2005 was covered extensively by the media and of all the reports I was struck by the story of one individual. This person was in the underground and survived the bomb attack on the train. In escaping from the train and the underground this person got onto a bus to go to work and died when a bomb blast hit the bus.
 
We do everything to escape death yet when the appointed time comes we cannot stop it. The reason for this is more than just self - preservation, we have a deep sense of eternity within us. We have been created in this way, the Bible tells us in the book of Ecclesiastes (3:11) that God “has put eternity in (our) hearts”. Deep down we have a sense and conviction of eternity, our inner being and experience tells us there must be more to life than our day to day physical existence.
 
We were created to have communion with God and to live in His presence, with man’s disobedience and sin death became part of human experience. Physical death and mortality rails against the immortality of our soul and spirit. This immortality is clearly highlighted in the Bible. We read in the book of Hebrews (9:27) "It is appointed to men to die once after this the judgment”. All men and women must die, this is the ultimate statistic every human being will face death. It is after this physical or bodily death that there is a day of judgment. This judgment is not a calculation of how many good and bad things we have done, this is a common misconception, rather judgment is based on how we respond to the person of Jesus Christ.
 
Jesus Christ conquered death and came to give eternal life to all that believe in Him, to all that place their faith in Him to all that commit their life into His care. Jesus Christ is the only one who has claimed that He is the resurrection and the life. Our destination in eternity (Heaven or Hell) depends on the decision we make in this life in our response to Jesus Christ. He was not just a good teacher or the founder of Christianity. He is the Son of God who came to earth to die on a cross so that by His death we may have life now and in eternity.
 
Take the time to think about your life and your existence. Do you find death frightening? Do you have a sense that you will exist and live in eternity? If you answer yes to these questions then don’t neglect the great salvation offered to you by Jesus Christ. Don’t harden your heart. Don’t push the issue aside for another day. That day may never come because no matter how much you flee from death you cannot escape the ultimate statistic, one out of one die and you have not been given the luxury of picking the day.