My neighbor died early this morning, totally unexpected. As for age, she was in her mid 40’s. Relationship: it really wasn’t that we were close but we had a friendly, fellow apartment-resident rapport. Not the point. Death is the salient point, not age, though relationship does intensify our reaction, even that isn’t the point. Death seems to always arrest us and force us to consider our own mortality. Death is sobering. The person who quickened our initial thinking fades but does the reality of our own mortality?
The question we face is what we believe about Heaven, Hell, Afterlife. Scripture teaches: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (Jesus speaking to Martha in John 11:25-26) If you believe that everything ends when you die then even though that’s the end of it (in your thinking) you will end up residing in an afterlife. For Christians, since you believe and have accepted Jesus, you will be in Heaven. But hell is also a real place – which is reserved for those who refuse to believe. It’s that simple. Contrary to what many say, scripture makes our destiny very clear and it is always our choice.
I believe that death should arrest our thinking. Those of us who are Christians and know where we are headed, this life is only a beginning; we should have a different perspective, but do we? While death may sober us, does it do anything else? I would suggest that Christians should never consider death lightly but it should spur us toward sharing the Lord with others who don’t know Him. Their eternal habitation should be important to us especially if we want to be part of the Lord’s final commission – Mathew 28:18-20. Being ‘good’ does not give us entrance nor will all, automatically, find themselves in heaven. There is only one way – through Jesus.
The point is that we are a spirit being, though currently residing in a physical state. And our spirit continues, Christian and non-Christian alike. The critical decision is where we spend all eternity. It is a very sober and serious decision and on it hangs our entire existence. This life is transitory – we read that in secular and sacred works. Our decision is a forever decision about where we will reside. Death is not to be feared. Actually… death is the doorway to another new adventure. However, your location does make all the difference.
