Life After Death

Just as the Holy Spirit is calling to each one of us, we have the great privilege to call out to Him and know He will answer. Darkness fills the family as we keep a vigil over a life about to translate into eternity. I cry out to the Holy One. He is here and speaks truth.

When death comes knocking and it is time for the "tent" to fold in preparation for wonders beyond our imagination, it's easy to get lost in the sorrow of the final good-byes here on earth.

Born again believers in Jesus Christ have an edge over others for we know the One who holds our eternity and we love Him. We do not mourn like those who have no hope yet the "death" experience is no respecter of persons and externally, physically we all must proceed through that corridor to life beyond our limited view.

Death is where the rubber meets the road in a person's belief system. The rich die, the poor die, the wise die, the foolish die, the young die, the old die. Up to this day, no one is exempt from the death of our flesh bodies except 2 men spoken of in God's Holy Word, and even those accounts leave so much to our imagination, we can only ponder what that was like.

Since all things inevitably come to an end, you would seem to think that people would be more inclined to prepare for the next destination point beyond this life. The Bible says, Ecc 3:11, "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end".

In the whole spectrum of history, there is only One who claimed to be the Eternal Holy One, with evidence to back it up. Many voices have been heard promoting philosophies, even codes for good moral behavior but only One voice speaks with Eternal authority, and that is the Only Begotten Son of God, Christ Jesus.

Why do men follow the pathways of dead "gods"? Could it be that dead "gods" and their prophets are easier to follow as they place no "enforceable" requirements on the living?
Christians are the only ones who follow a living Savior. Our God lives!. Jesus is the only resurrected Savior.

When confronted with the super-natural fact of the Resurrection, everything else we might believe in falls away. Good men, and their moral codes live for a while in our memories but then they are placed in a casket of dead things. Certain men or women who live reputable lives may be wonderful to follow for a season but then we all have to admit that not one hero of any other "religion" or belief system ever conquered death.

The Resurrected One deserves all our attention, all our honor, all our respect, all our loyalty, all our worship. None can compare to our "Champion". No other theology, philosophy, or belief system can truly claim a life beyond death except the One who came back physically to prove it. To such a One we must pay close attention and if we desire to live eternally, we must follow Him as He has led the way. Jesus is the only true Messiah. His life, death and resurrection is a historic fact.

And this is the reason for our hope.

When death happens here on earth, we are ushered into a new place with different dynamics, but our soul lives on. For the followers of Christ, this is a wondrous welcoming place where we will be face to face with our Savior. But for those who never cared to prepare for eternity through the Truth of God's Word, there is the foreboding finality spoken in Revelation 20:11.

Jesus talked about the "narrow road that leads to life. "Enter through the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad the road that leads to destruction and many enter it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it." Matt 7:13-14.

This broad vs narrow road is not the "law" or rules upon us that are hard to live by. The way is not narrow because of legalistic requirements or regulations. The way is narrow simply because Jesus Christ is the ONLY way provided by the Father to have relationship with and access to Heaven's Throne, where all judgement is executed against sin.

God's ultimate judgment over sin was already poured out onto the Savior on the Cross. We either accept it or not. We either receive and believe that Jesus Christ died in our place having paid the price for sin that must be judged and condemned or not.

But for those who believe they can get to the Throne of Heaven any other way, whether by good works, sweet disposition, or following the tenets of Buddha, Mohammad, Joseph
Smith or others, however "good" they may sound, are entering through the wrong gate and unto their ultimate destruction.

In the face of the ultimate equalizer of all men who ever lived, which is the death of our earthly existence, we can rejoice in faith that the One who was crucified in our place is alive and well. His tomb is empty and He lives. Because He lives, all of us who follow Him will live on as well.

Followers of Christ can celebrate...even in the face of death. How about you?

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?