Not only does sleep not harm you, but sleep actually benefits you. I was talking with the children in Children’s Chapel today. And I asked them how many of them have ever slept. They all raised their hands. And I asked,
Who has ever been hurt by sleeping?None of them. They were kind of reluctant—they do not like to sleep, you know, just like we do not like to die. But then I said,Have you ever been helped by sleeping?Well, yes—they had been helped. They were cranky, they went to bed, they were better when they woke up. So often—how often—do doctors say,You know, what you really need is to get some sleep,because it restores you, and it is designed by God to bring that to the body. And so is death for the Christian—designed by God to lead to restoration for the soul. It transforms us into glory. It removes every vestige of sin and sorrow. Why, then, should we be afraid to die in Christ?John Owen says this:
Richard D. PhillipsWhen at death the soul departs from the body, it is immediately freed from all weakness, disability, darkness, doubts, and fears. And being freed, their souls flourish and expand to their fullest extent.Isn’t that wonderful? Being freed from sin, we are. Our souls will expand in the presence of God to their fullest extent. They will flourish. That is the Bible’s teaching. Indeed, Matthew Henry adds: “Being still in union with Christ, our souls sleep in his arm and are under his special care and protection. The souls are in his presence. Their dust is under his care and power. So they are not lost, nor are they losers, but they are great gainers by death, and their removal out of this world is into a better world”.1
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.