“Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody really wants to die!” Not sure who said it, but I know for sure that many of us believe it. In fact, nobody likes death at all. It is the thing we fear the most. And I think the reason is that we do not understand it. So, the question is, “Is there life after death? What really is the truth about Eternal Life?” This inquisition is just that. A query. It is not the answer to the question, but more an investigation into what we have been taught, and what we really think about life and life after death. Many of us have suffered the loss of loved ones, some more times than we care to recall, and we have been comforted in our belief that there is life after death. We have submitted our will to the Sovereign Will of God in these times, and that has proven to be just what we needed. Death is really not something that we want to talk about, nor think about it. None of us, and nor do I. But one day we are all going to die. We do not know when, and we do not know-how. But I know that we who have faith in the True & Living God, also trust His Word, and He has a lot to say on this topic; but can we have an open and honest dialogue about life and death.
There was a time in my life when I would not go to a funeral. I was in my actual infancy in my relationship with Christ, and far away from Him, when my mother’s father died. I was in my early teens, and it has been a long while now, but I remember exactly how I felt. I remember being angry. I remember not understanding. I remember having questions, and nobody to answer them. I remember the Home-going Service, and the people walking up to the casket and looking in at my grandfather who lay there, dead. And I remember wondering what he was thinking, and if he wanted to get up. I remember the people coming back to our house afterward, and the laughter, and the “celebration” while they ate fried chicken, collard greens, and potato salad, while we (who were grieving) catered to their needs; they were our guests, and somehow this was to bring us comfort. Then after so many hours, they were gone, and we were left alone to figure out how to get along without “Dootley!” Colonel Parker was my mother’s father. All we really know about him is that his father was an American Indian, whose name was “Jerry.” I never knew Dootley’s mother, nor his father, or even why we called him Dootley. But it was our affectionate name for him, and we still call him that to this day. I do not know if he was ever truly a “Colonel,” but it was his name. I do not know when or where he married my grandmother, but I know that from that union, they had twelve children; and the first-born of the four boys, was named “Colonel Parker, Jr.,” after his father, and we called him “Junior.” Long after Dootley died, one by one, other family members and friends died too. And we would go on to repeat the “home-going service” like so many times before. I would despise those times because they made no sense to me. I did not understand then, and there was nobody to whom I could ask my questions. “Would they get up again?” What were they thinking?” “Did they miss us too?” “Where are they now?” “Where is paradise?” It was a very long time until I got to a place of “understanding,” that no one ceases to exist when they die, having been taught that everyone lives forever, in either heaven or hell.
When it came to death and dying, somewhere along the way I was taught that eternal life is living forever, and even though she did not understand it either, my mom used to say, “That’s God’s Business!” So, I resolved that if it was God’s business, ultimately that was good enough for me. But everlasting life is not something that begins when we get to heaven. There are a number of scriptures that speak to everlasting life as our possession in this life (John 4:14; 5:24; 6:27; 6:40-47). In our salvation experience, we have the promise of eternal life, and we know that God accomplished that through the sacrificing of Jesus, His Son, and our Savior, for His glory and our good. This means that there is nothing good about death and dying. So, what else did Jesus accomplish by dying Himself? The promise of Eternal life. Sin was a barrier that stood between us and a holy God. But by Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, Sin can no longer stand between God and Man. Jesus defined eternal life for us in John 17:3, where he prays for his disciples, and says, “And this is eternal life, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Eternal Life is knowing God, and it is more than the intellectual knowledge that one might have. It is more than book knowledge. It is experiential knowledge that comes from time spent with someone; intimacy, like between a husband and a wife; indeed, Jesus the Bridegroom and His bride, the Church. When Jesus spoke of knowing God, He spoke of having an intimate, close, personal relationship with Him. Many great men have died. Many lesser-known men have died. People we have immortalized forever, have died. Whitney Houston. Prince. Michael Jackson. Maurice White. Bernie Mac. Luther! And the list goes on. If all you did in your salvation experience was ask Jesus to forgive your sins so that you would not perish in hell, then you are missing out on the eternal life the Lord wants us to have right now. Your Salvation is more than your trip to heaven, as Pastor have told us many times. We must not be content to muddle through life singing songs about how, when we all get to heaven, what a day that will be. It will be a good day, but today can be a good day too if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is in Jesus Christ that we have, “A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” (Titus 1:2). People that we love will continue to die, and one day so will we. But when you have a personal relationship with the Lord that is not waiting to start in heaven but is working in you while you are still in the world, you know that Jesus came to bring us back into an intimate relationship with God, the Father. Faith comes from hearing God’s Word (Romans 10:17). We must not wait for heaven to start living. In Jesus Christ, we have eternal life right now.
To this day, I still do not like funerals, and by the Word of God, and under the pastorate of Pastor Washington, I have come to know the Lord and to trust Him. And every time I pay my last respects and look into the face of someone who has gone on to be with the Lord, I pray that they have settled the issue of eternal life, having spent many years with the Lord, and intending to spend the rest, as they rest. If there was no afterlife, if there was no heaven or hell, John 3:16 reveals that Jesus would have still come, and died for our sins so we could once again have an intimate relationship with Him and His father right now, in this present evil world (Galatians.1:4). While I may not understand it all, like my momma used to say, “It’s God’s business,” I am convinced of who Jesus is. I am committed to what He taught, and I have total confidence in what He has done to secure my life in Him, and with Him. He is Lord. He will reign forever, and we who belong to Him will reign with Him…Forever! Bottom Line: God is not mad at you! He is not counting your sins and holding them against you. He wants so much, to have a personal relationship with you that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to shed His blood, die on the cross and be raised from the dead. He did all of that so that you can be set free from the bondage of sin and the fear of death and enter into eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17 KJV).
What’s Next? Pray this prayer out loud right now: “Dear God, I want to be a part of your family. Your Word says that if I acknowledge that You raised Jesus from the dead and that I accept Him as my Lord and Savior, I would be saved. So, God, I now say that I believe that you raised Jesus from the dead and that He is alive and well. I accept Him now as my personal Lord and Savior. I accept my salvation from sin right now. Jesus is now my Savior, and I am yours. I belong to you. Thank you, Father God, for forgiving me, saving me, and giving me eternal life with you. Amen!” If you just prayed this prayer for the first time, Welcome to the Family of God! As family we want to pray for you and provide you with the resources to help in your walk with God! Tell everybody that you meet about your Salvation Experience. It is not just for you.
Submitted By Deaconess Irene Gardon