Messiah or Devil?
Perhaps I’m just not old enough, or my memory is already playing tricks with me, but I don’t remember the death of a former Prime Minister causing such a divided reaction as that of Margaret Thatcher did this week. One would think, on one side, that she was virtually the Messiah and, on the other, scarcely better than the devil incarnate. That she was a divisive figure is hardly in question; it is noticeable that people on both sides of the debate have qualified their responses with phrases like, “whatever you think…”
What troubles me, though, is those who are rejoicing over her death, even holding ‘death parties’ to mark the occasion. Was she that evil? Even if she was (and I doubt it), surely the death of any human being is a time for sadness? How can anyone made in the image of God – who is immortal – die? People die because they are sinners. If there was no sin, there would be no death: “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
It is also a time for sober reflection: “man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Yes, Baroness Thatcher has died to face God’s judgment – as each one of us will when we die. That is why we need Jesus. The writer continues: “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time … to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (verse 28).