WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE? |
 |
| We don't like to think about death. It's not a pleasant subject, and we avoid even discussing it seriously or giving it any diligent study. If our career plans involved a foreign assignment, our desk would be littered with brochures and travel folders as we would try learn all we could about our forthcoming destination. If we were scheduled for an exam that our lives depended upon, we would be studying in earnest. Yet the most certain event in our future is one we try our best to ignore and attempt to relegate to a comfortable distance. Our appointment with death is an absolute certainty - probably our only certainty. It may come sooner than we expect: a car crash, a stray bullet, an unforeseen stroke. We all know of personal examples where death has come suddenly, without warning, without any preparations. When it finally does come, what do we expect it to be like? One of the penalties of our casual - or reluctant - attitude about death and dying is that most people are steeped in myths and misconceptions. Almost every commonly held belief is erroneous, misleading, and contrary to what we do know about the subject. There are numerous books that have been published about "near-death experiences," which at best are less than reliable sources, no matter how well intended. But there are several incidences that we can trust as reliable. Stephen, as he was being stoned, gave us a glimpse: But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. - Acts 7:55,56 So this notion that being greeted by the Lord Himself - at least in his case - is not fanciful. As serious Christians, we can take significant comfort from Stephen's experience. Paul also speaks of a "near-death" type of experience in which he was caught up to paradise. Since this happened 14 years before writing about it to the Corinthians, some scholars believe it may have coincided with his experience at Lystra where he was stoned and dragged out of the city and left for dead. (Whether this was a "near-death" experience or an actual death-and-return, we'll have to wait until we can ask him.) It is significant that Jesus spoke much more about "Hell" than He did about Heaven. The very concept of the need for a Savior presupposes the avoidance of the otherwise certain destiny of desolation and eternal punishment. The good news is that you and I are the beneficiaries of a love letter: a letter written in blood on a wooden cross erected in Judea about two thousand years ago and which is the fulcrum of all history and the entire universe. The crucifixion was not a tragedy: it was a crowning achievement. His achievement makes it possible to avoid an otherwise certain destiny. |
| Related Links: |
Original source K-House |
|
