BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY

Do you go straight to heaven when you die? Are you instantaneously transformed at death into an eternal soul that joins other eternal souls who already live in heaven with God? Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” 

Perhaps you have a different understanding. Do you see history moving toward an ultimate end, the Kingdom of God, at which time the dead will rise by the power of God with new bodies, imperishable and immortal as the apostle Paul described it. So, we all will rise then as Christ once rose from the dead when he inaugurated the Kingdom of God at his resurrection. We wait for his return to see our resurrection from the dead for eternity in a new heaven and earth, as Revelation describes it. 

These are questions that came up in a recent bible study of mine. I’ve found that these questions come up often in bible studies, regardless of the topic. I think I know why. We get anxious about the unknown. I blame no one for wanting to understand what happens when we die. I expect to die myself, although the defense mechanism of denial is still working strong. I have at times tried to envision what death will be like. At times I’ve wondered about those I love who have already died. I have pondered these mysteries often and concur with many of you who have pondered these same mysteries, finally confessing that it gets very confusing sometimes.

While questions about death and the afterlife are easy to engage, since we all have a vested interest in the answers, it is apparent to me that God wants us to trust him with the final answers. What he has given us is himself in the person of Jesus Christ, who was crucified, died and was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead. Easter is powerful precisely because it points to life after death, our Lord’s and our own. I believe in the resurrection in whatever form it takes because I believe in the one who was resurrected.

John said he wrote his gospel that we might believe Jesus is the Christ, and by believing we may have life in his name (20:31). It is belief in that name that gives us peace and joy about the life to come. It is that name that gives us freedom from fear of the unknown, simply because we know he is Lord of all, the living and the dead. It is that name that frees us to let go of all our unanswered questions and trust completely the one who holds the answers to all mysteries.