The After Life?
Last week, a long-time acquaintance - a good friend of a good friend - died. Without giving all the details, we'll just say that years of wrong living and abusing his own body caught up with him. In the wake of his death, my friend asked me about the after life. This friend of mine is a believer, though relatively new. He wanted to know where our friend's spirit was now.
The issue is that between his Roman Catholic heritage, much popular misunderstanding of what the Bible says - and doesn't say - about what happens after physical death, along with the influence of modern spiritism, he was unsure of what happens to a person - including an unbeliever, like his friend - when they die. Is he in hell? Does his spirit linger on earth? Does he have a chance to get into heaven?
It is sad, indeed, when someone dies and you cannot give those he left behind any assurance that they are "in a better place." And the truth is that the Bible doesn't give a whole lot of detail about what happens to the spirit of an unbeliever when they die physically. In fact, it doesn't give a whole lot of detail about the intermediate state (between physical death and physical resurrection) of the believer, either.
And maybe that's okay. Maybe there's a reason God hasn't revealed such things. Maybe we should focus on what we do know - like the fact that placing your faith in Christ means there is no such thing as an "after life" - because there is nothing after life. Because life for those in Christ doesn't end.
Those who are in Christ, though they will see physical death, unless He returns, will never die. Paul said we long to be absent from our bodies and present with the Lord - indicating that physical death results in our spirit being very much alive and in the presence of God.
And when someone needs assurance when they lose a loved one, assure them that one day, Jesus is coming back, and those who die in faith will be physically raised to be with Him forever. That is what we know. That is what we need to proclaim. Whether the dearly departed was a believer or not, those who remain must look to Jesus. For salvation. For hope. For life.
Look to Jesus, my friends.
The issue is that between his Roman Catholic heritage, much popular misunderstanding of what the Bible says - and doesn't say - about what happens after physical death, along with the influence of modern spiritism, he was unsure of what happens to a person - including an unbeliever, like his friend - when they die. Is he in hell? Does his spirit linger on earth? Does he have a chance to get into heaven?
It is sad, indeed, when someone dies and you cannot give those he left behind any assurance that they are "in a better place." And the truth is that the Bible doesn't give a whole lot of detail about what happens to the spirit of an unbeliever when they die physically. In fact, it doesn't give a whole lot of detail about the intermediate state (between physical death and physical resurrection) of the believer, either.
And maybe that's okay. Maybe there's a reason God hasn't revealed such things. Maybe we should focus on what we do know - like the fact that placing your faith in Christ means there is no such thing as an "after life" - because there is nothing after life. Because life for those in Christ doesn't end.
Those who are in Christ, though they will see physical death, unless He returns, will never die. Paul said we long to be absent from our bodies and present with the Lord - indicating that physical death results in our spirit being very much alive and in the presence of God.
And when someone needs assurance when they lose a loved one, assure them that one day, Jesus is coming back, and those who die in faith will be physically raised to be with Him forever. That is what we know. That is what we need to proclaim. Whether the dearly departed was a believer or not, those who remain must look to Jesus. For salvation. For hope. For life.
Look to Jesus, my friends.
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