Your Odds? 1:1

I received sad news today regarding a friend's health. It doesn't look good. If it were not for the fact she is a believer and for giving her heart to Christ many years ago, I would be completely losing it. I thank God that as Christians, you and I have an eternal hope beyond this "tent" in which we temporarily dwell. There seems to be no greater fear than that of death. One thing is sure, there is no escape from death "there is a time to be born and a time to die" (Ecclesiastes 3:2). Dying is a fundamental fear and no wonder! Consider the odd's ...one in every one person will pass away! We will never escape the death of our bodies. One thing my husband used to say while jesting was nothing is certain in life except death and taxes. I have two thoughts on that. Anyone could most certainly avoid taxes if he is clever enough or if he hires the right lawyer. Secondly, as true as it is that our physical bodies will expire, a term we call DEATH, the fact is, ALL OF US will actually live on eternally! We don't really die. Some pass to an eternity of bliss. Others not so much. Who are the ones that will experience heavenly bliss or the others a life of separation, darkness, and torment? You could go to any graveyard and read the headstones ... buried there are young, old, male, female, brothers, wives, husbands, daughters, even babies! But nowhere will you read on those carved stones where the departed went! So how can we know if anything lies beyond the grave? Today I'm hoping this blog will settle your heart and mind that there is life after death and that you need to think seriously about the fate beyond your physical body.

Though not one grave marker will indicate what awaited the departed, the Bible does. For all believers and non-believers, death is not the end of the story! Paul tells the followers of Christ in his writings that we have nothing to fear no matter what we die of, how we die, when or where we die. Why is there nothing to fear? Because God left us a promise in Paul's writing 2 Corinthians 5:1, " For WE KNOW (he says...we know) that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"-KJV. Let's read the NIV version, "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." I like the comparison made of our bodies to a tent. Why? Have you ever gone camping in a tent? Have you ever had a problem with the aluminum poles slanting or collapsing in the wind? Have you ever had your tent leak in the middle of a rainstorm? Or the outer shell tear? Well, I have. Just like a tent, our bodies wear out with age. They sag, they wrinkle, they aren't as strong, aren't as resilient, or colorful, or protective as they once were. Like the aluminum poles of a tent our bones eventually collapse, our foundation weakens, we leak!! Face it, our bodies don't last forever. Consider the difference in the passage between the tent and a building. Isn't a tent basically flimsy? They tear and wear out. They are not meant to be a permanent fixture! They are meant to be replaced. A building, on the other hand, is built on a solid foundation, they are strong and never meant to be moved out of their place. Someday we will leave this "tent" and head home to our surer foundation, Jesus Christ, and our home in heaven prepared for us by God Himself. Death is not the end. It is not annihilation. It is not the finish and you most certainly will live on in heaven or hell! There is no in-between. If you want a simpler term to understand what "death" is for all believers in Christ, call it a trade-in! One day we will trade in our old, broken- down, barely working, hardly seeing, difficulty walking or 'unable to do anything' bodies for a new glorious, disease-free, worry-free, age-free body.

Death will be as easy as taking off an old, battered coat for a brand new one (2 Corinthians 5:2-4). When my friend passes she will immediately receive her new resurrected body, and for me, that is enough to know she is with Jesus and will have no more pain, no more disappointment, no more struggle, no more worries, no more disease, no more being hurt, etc. In a way, I am a tad bit jealous of all those who have gone before me that gave their lives and their living to Jesus. They are now clothed in His love and experiencing what my eyes have not seen nor ears heard what God has given to those that love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9). Because God created us as individuals, no two people are alike, that makes each of us unique to Him. Before the fall of man, our bodies were not carnal or mortal. How do I know? Because of Genesis 1:27. It says we "were created in the image of God" and John 4:24 says "God is a Spirit." It was only after the decision made to disobey God that Adam and his wife (and every human family born from that beginning seed including you and I) lost our original "covering" which was sinless, pure, and righteous...the very essence of God. I believe it is THAT IMAGE to which we will return. I also believe we will look like ourselves ...same face, same basic personalities, etc. but with such a glorious, holy presence. Each of us will be so beautiful, our countenance beaming without the ugliness and weight of sin.

This is our hope of eternal salvation. I do not view heaven as a place where people float on clouds or sing hymns as we do here! "No eye has seen or ear heard what God has prepared for those that love Him," says 1 Corinthians 2:9. I do believe praise, rejoicing, and songs will be on our lips. How could it not? But I also believe heaven must be a lot like earth before sin corrupted God's creation! After all, God created a place of magnificence referred to as a garden or a paradise. I love the beauty of this earth from the waterfalls to the Amazon rain forest. From the Kansas wheat fields to the snow-covered Colorado rocky mountains. The warm Gulf waters, to the brilliant leaves that paint our trees in Fall! It was all created by God. It is His handiwork. How much more beauty will our eyes behold in heaven where there is no sin, no evil, no darkness at all. There is no night there, indeed not even a need for the sun, for the Glory of Jesus lights the place (Revelation 22:5). Can you imagine? For all believers, including my friend, it's going to happen. God has promised it! You have a 1 in 1 chance you are going to die. You also have a 1 in 1 chance you will live forever. You only have a 50% chance that it will be in heaven. What is your choice? Until next time ...
-Pat-