The Best Day of My Life

This the transcript of a speech I did in 2007 in a Christian Speech and Debate League.


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The best day of my life, will be the day I die! I can not wait to die!

If this sounds dark, depressing or just plain weird, then you’re just the person I want to talk to. I have something that I ecstatic to share with you. I have freedom from the fear and mystery of death. I have a crazy, God-centered, anticipation to die. Not anticipation of death, but of dying. I’ll explain the difference in greater depth later on. My goal today, to persuade Christians to live to die, not in a morbid, dark way, but instead by opening your eyes to what life is, and what it really means to die.

My goal, is to persuade Christians to live with this whole new twist on life, living on a higher plain, by directing their focus back to the center point of our faith.

I’m going to split this into two sections. The first will focus on why Christians shouldn’t fear death or dying…at all. And the second section will focus on why Christians should actually be looking forward to dying, with this God-centered anticipation. And that’s the true essence of what I want to talk about.


Section One

Within section one, there will be three points on why Christians should not fear death, and not fear dying. And at the end of this first section, I hope that you will see my reasons for believing what I believe about death.

The first point is that you will die. Sorry, It’s gonna happen. The statistic is staggering, ten out ten people die. I once got a quote through email; it said ‘health is merely the slowest rate at which one can die.’ And that may seem a bit depressing, but it’s true! Regardless of what we want, think or do, we will die. Everyone does.

Hold on. My point is that we should not fear death. But my first reason for this is that death is inevetable. But isn’t that the reason that people fear it? Don’t we instinctively fear what we cannot run away from, or escape?

Think about it this way: Assuming you don’t die in the near future, tomorrow will come. Do you fear tomorrow? Probably not. Tomorrow is coming whether you like or not, just like death.

Now, you may be afraid of what you have to do tomorrow. For example, many people fear public speaking. So the day before you are going to speak, would you be afraid? But I doubt that anyone feared the day itself. Now, let’s take that logic, and apply it to death. It’s wouldn’t make sense to fear death, because it’s inevitably coming, just like tomorrow. And of course, some people may fear what they have to do on the day of their death. But Christians are not any of those people.

And that is the second point in section one. Christians have nothing to fear in being judged by God, because we have been made right through Christ Jesus.


This brings me into the third point.
The sun rises every morning, without my saying so, or not. I have no control over it. So I don’t worry about it. My worrying about the sun won’t change a thing. The same thing goes for our deaths. In Ecclesiastes 8, it says that no man can prevent the day of death. So, if I can’t delay it, it is pointless for me to worry or be concerned about it.
I cannot stop the day of my death, just like I can’t stop the earth in motion.


But is that always true? Is it really true to say that not being in control is sufficient reason to not worry? Any parent who’s gone through driver training with their teenager will know what I’m talking about.

There are situations where not being in control is precisely why we worry. Driver training, roller coasters…although for me, those two were probably the same! The point is that there appears to be situations where you’re not in control, and it’s fine, like the stars and the Sun. But there’re also situations where you’re not in control, and you are definitely NOT fine!

And this is the essence of the third point. What’s the difference? How can you not be in control of the world, and be fine with that. And not be in control of the car, and NOT be fine with that.

The deciding factor between the two, in my opinion is actually two reasons. The first is the knowledge of who is in control and the second is whether or not you trust that person with being in control. So you’re ok with God controlling the universe, but uncomfortable with your teenager in controlling the car.

But here’s the clincher! I trust God to keep the universe in check, right? Of course! Well, that same God has complete control over me and my death. Psalms 48:14 says “For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.” So, the same God who controls the earth and its orbit in space has complete control over me and my death. I have the freedom to hand over all worries and concerns about the time of my death into His perfect hands. I can truly be fine with not having the ability to delay my death. My death is where it belongs, in God’s perfect hands. I don’t have to worry about it anymore. And you don’t have to worry about ether. We are both free from the fear of death, and the fear of dying.

It was Jim Elliot who said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” That says it all! I’m no fool because I gladly give up my life (which I cannot keep anyway) to gain what I cannot lose!
Hebrew 2:14
14Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself (speaking of Christ) likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

So God has made powerless the one who had the power of death. Death, and the one who controlled it, have no power over us anymore. God has taken away the fear of death. So we as Christians have no business putting ourselves under that fear again.

Paul said in 1st Corinthians 15:55
"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O GRAVE, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"
We should be the only people in society who have the crazy reputation of not fearing death.

So in conclusion of the first section, death is coming so you don’t have to worry about it or when it comes. God is in complete control of your death. And we can trust God, with that control. Death brings everyone to Christ, and Christians have nothing to fear in that meeting. So, there’s really no rhyme or reason for Christians to have a fear of death or dying. God has taken that fear away so that we can be free in Christ.



Before I go into part two, I need to address something that I alluded to in the beginning. I said in my introduction, there is a difference between looking forward to death, and looking forward to dying. And I need to explain that in more detail. Death is when your body dies. Dying is your soul moving on to eternal life. The center focus of death is the decomposing of this body. The center focus of dying is the moving on of this soul. If dying is going to your friend’s house, death is the act of leaving your house. I look forward to dying, moving on to eternal life, not to death, the fading of this body.


This brings me into part two

Why you should be looking forward to the day you die.

Now, I don’t fear roaches, but that certainly doesn’t mean I look forward to them. In the same way, you may not fear death, but it doesn’t mean you look forward to it.

Revelation 21:4 in reference to the end of days, it says:
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Who wouldn’t look forward to that? Death, crying, sorrow, pain will all be gone forever.

But I said a “God centered, anticipation to die.” Not a comfort centered anticipation.
And that’s what it is: God centered.

Personally, I like Norman Rockwell pictures a lot. I’m a sucker for Norman Rockwell. I would have considered it a great honor if I could have met him, and spent some time talking with him. That would have been fantastic! I could enjoy his art and be amazed at his creativity, but that would all fade into the background if I could have met him.

Now think about this, God is the artist and you are the art. How you could be amazed at his creation and enjoy this life, but that all fades into background at the thought of finally spending the rest of forever with the ingenious artist of your entire being!

No pain and no tears are certainly wonderful thoughts. But those are not the reasons I look forward to my death. ‘A God-centered, anticipation to die.’ That is the reason. When I die I can finally fall at my savior’s feet, and love Him and worship Him for the rest of eternity.


The disciple Andrew was this kind of man. According to “Foxe’s book of Christian martyrs” by John Foxe, he was brought before the Roman proconsul told not to preach in the name of Jesus Christ, or he would be crucified. Andrew replied “I would not have preached the honor and glory of the cross, if I feared the death of the cross.” He was condemned to die. Upon seeing the cross on which he would die, he said “Oh cross, most welcomed and longed for! With a willing mind joyfully and desirously, I come to you, being the scholar of Him, which did hang on you, because I have always been your lover, and yearn to embrace you!” Whoa! Where are the Christians like that today? Where are they? It is my goal to be one, and to raise up others out of the ashes of a life centered faith. The entire premise of our Christians faith is the dying. The dying of Christ, the dying to self, dying to sin, looking forward to the day where death itself dies, and we can enjoy the life that we died and enjoy the one who died for us.


After saying all this, I need to make this point. I would never dream of taking my own life! I love God too much to do that. It’s like two couples who are dating. The first couple says, “To show how much we love each other, we’ll sleep together before we’re married.” The second couple says, “To show how much we love each other, we will wait until we’re married to sleep together.” Both couples lay claim to the reason of showing their love, but with opposite outcomes. If the first couple truly loved each other, they would never dream of jumping the gun like that. If someone truly loves God, they would never dream of taking their life. I love God too much to take my own life.

But really, can you imagine waking up every morning and saying “God, if today is the day that I can finally see you, then that’ll be the best day of my life!” What a beautiful thought! If you look forward to death, then it can’t scare you! And if death has no hold on you, what does? What can scare you, if death brings what you most want? Eternity with the God you love. Embracing death, with God at the center of your life, puts a whole new paradigm on life. Life is a time of spreading this fire that God has set in your heart. What if you’re persecuted? What if you’re a social outcast? What if…? Count it all joy, because trouble now, brings treasure in heaven. What if they kill you? So? Then that would be the best thing that could happen.

So life is full of tribulation, which brings treasure in heaven. Death achieves what life cannot. Death is the best thing a Christian can hope for. But as Mark Cahill puts it, there’s “One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven.” And that’s sharing Christ Jesus, here on earth. Life is a harvest field, and death is the only medium between this life of pain and eternal life with God. Live to die. Don’t be discouraged, however many trials come today, or the rest of your life, we have a beautiful promise at the end of the road.

This is the new twist on life, and higher plain that I mentioned in the beginning. This is a whole new paradigm. Life is the only time we can spread the word of God. If we’re rejected or persecuted, that stores up treasure in heaven. So life holds no fears, and to die is our reward. Keith Getty put it this way in his song, “In Christ Alone”, “No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me.” Death brings what Christians live for, eternal life with the God we love. What is there to fear in that?

The best day of my life, will be the day I die!