Life without end. . . .

Today is my 83rd birthday. People say I don’t look my age. Sometimes I feel it, but today am more concerned with being productive — but it is -30C outside, so hibernating is appealing!

However, there are days when the quickly passing years are reluctantly on my mind. It is good to read about the reality of eternal life and know that this life is not all there is. God does not always reveal to me that I’ve been a blessing by doing something He planned for me to do here, but since He says He saved me for His purposes, I am trusting Him and rejoicing that He keeps His promises. Many are listed here:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1–10)

Not only do I rejoice in having a blessed life, the fact that it is eternal is also precious. Eternal means forever, never ending. Both Old and New Testaments declare it. For example:

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29)

Many of my friends, even Christian friends, look at death as a huge enemy. Young ones don’t think of it much, but the older most get, the more they want to stay healthy and keep on living here rather than stepping from this life into the next. How important to realize that that ‘next’ life is already ours. We have Christ and with Christ, we have eternal life. It is not something that we enter into when we die, but is already ours, and something to enjoy and rejoice in right now. This is because that life is the very life of Christ, in us and given to us the moment of our salvation.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m glad today that instead of marking the years, I can mark that from the day You walked into my life, You gave me Your life, Your forever life. If You died, I would die, but because You live forever, so do I live forever. It is a done deal, not a future promise. In You, I am eternally secure. Such an amazing and wonderful gift from an amazing and incredible Lord and Savior. You fill me with joy even as You reassure me that I am Yours forever!

 

Alive but dead? Dead but alive?

Death is separation of the person from all else that is living. No communication. No sight. No understanding. No hugs. No anger. It means the end of everything loved, enjoyed, felt, sorrow, pain and laughter. Why am I being so morbid? Because knowing what life is includes knowing what death is.

My doctor says as soon as we are born we start to die. She is talking about physical death and as much as we try to avoid the thought, we all are terminal. However, this is not the death that I am thinking about. It is spiritual death, not the separation of myself from all else in this world, but the separation of my spirit from the Spirit of God, a separation caused by sin. Another morbid thought.

Most people avoid the word sin the same way we try to avoid thoughts of death. Maybe that is because these terms are cousins, even siblings. They signify an ending, a brokenness, a ruin. Spiritual death is separation from God — but it has good news attached. It can be fixed, reversed, changed. John wrote:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)

Some might read this and say, “No thanks. I already have a good life. I don’t need life in Christ.” They don’t realize they are physically alive but dead to God, dead in sin. Jesus is not talking about new physical life. He is talking about having the innermost part, our spirits, made alive so that we are in relationship with our Creator, so we have His life, a life that is eternal, one that lasts after these bodies die.

Life is how the Bible expresses what happens to those who believe in Christ. Jesus expressed it this way to the Pharisee, Nicodemus: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

This life is described as eternal in quality and is, therefore, the opposite of the state of spiritual death, which means to perish. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Life in Christ means having His divine nature imparted to my heart. I try to let that sink in. Somedays it is an incredible reality. Somedays so unreal, those days when I feel very human, very far from being a child of God. But faith or believing is not about feelings. God says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12) and faith believes it, regardless of my feelings.

The same goes for actions. Today I am experiencing a lot of pain and can hardly think about the rest of the world that suffers too, and that needs prayer and compassion. Other days, I can weep for them, pray and call and care. Yet whether my actions are selfish or selfless, Jesus gave me His life to me and He does not take it back every time I act as if He is not here. This new life is eternal, not come-and-go or temporary.

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Jesus, I’m not feeling too lively or eternal today, but that does not change You or Your promises, nor does it change the reality that You will never leave me or forsake me. As for those who do not understand spiritual death because they refuse to think about that word sin, or do not want spiritual life because they do not understand what they are refusing, I pray Your Spirit would shed light into their hearts and minds and by grace and mercy, they would seek and grab hold of all that You promise.

From dead in sin to alive in Christ

We easily use ‘dead’ as a euphemism for sleep — “Last night I slept like a dead person” — but the Bible uses it as a description for all people because we are by nature dead in sin. Death means separation from life, and in the case of sin, separation from God.

In the divine legal system, every person is born legally dead. Some are less corrupt than others in the sense of expressing their sinfulness, yet all have no spiritual life. Sin does that. Sin is the expression or evidence of death and sooner or later produces corruption. Being dead, we are unable to help ourselves and have no power to make ourselves alive.

When Lazarus died, his sisters were utterly dismayed that Jesus had not come to heal him. When He did show up, they told Him exactly how they felt, but He had something to say also:

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:21–27)

This narrative is a test. It asks me the same questions. I’ve people in my family who are growing close to the end. Some know that Jesus is the Christ and are not fearful. Others do not and are afraid. What about me? Will the knowledge of Jesus Christ ease the dismay of death? Or will I be utterly dismayed by it and by the loss of someone I love?

Some questions cannot be answered until the challenge is actual and the issue must be addressed. Herein is the value of the Gospel. Before I knew Jesus, that question would swirl unanswered until the crisis came, but because of what He has done, I already know at least how I will react at the dying of those who know Jesus also. This Word from God is for them and for me:

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1–7)

We who believe have already been given life from death! It starts with the new birth, not a decision we made, nor a group effort between us and God. It is a resurrection to life from being dead in sin, and incredible gift from God. This new life goes beyond physical life too. That is, when my body dies, I live on, and like Lazarus, I will hear the voice of Jesus calling me out from the grave. The difference is that unlike Lazarus, I will not die again, but from that point on will walk into eternity with Jesus, forever alive with a life that began when He caused me to be born again.

In other words, we who believe in Jesus already are alive from the dead. Physical death is simply that life moving from our bodies to another place that He has prepared for us, a place with no more tears, no more sorrow, a place where we will be together with Him forever.

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Jesus, I’m aware today more than ever of the fleeting nature of this life, but this life is not all that I have! You have given me new life, Your life and because of that, there is more beyond the end of things here. Without this promise and this hope, some will say that “the best is yet to come” — little do they realize how true that is for those who know You!

This post is dedicated to my cousin, Norman who passed from this life to the next early this morning. He was my buddy when we were young and leaves many who will miss him very much.

Already Alive Forever

Early in Israel’s history Job asked this question: “If a man dies, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14) Didn’t he know that Israel has the best track record for resurrections? Both the Old Testament and the New describe incidents of people being raised from the dead.

However, as great as those were, the most significant is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. No life has had a greater impact on history than His. Not only that, because He rose from the grave, I know that I will also.

In the early church, some were unsure so Paul wrote to them these words . . .

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18)

Paul stressed the importance of this event by saying, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19). In other words, Christians know that any hope in this world and the things of this world is short-lived. We hope in Jesus Christ and if the resurrection is a false promise, then we have missed out on ‘the good life’ by wasting our time and energy to serve God.

The Bible is filled with the promises of God concerning life after death. This one says that in the mind of God, it has already happened: “Even when we were dead in our trespasses, (God) made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus . . . .” (Ephesians 2:5–6)

Also, Jesus said it would happen . . .

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live . . . . Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:25, 28–29) (Note: in the mind of God, ‘good’ refers to deeds done in faith and ‘evil’ to anything done without faith.)

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:37–40)

“Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26)

The Bible has more to say about life after death, but for now — back to Job. He asked the question, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” but he already knew the answer. In Job 19:25–26, he said, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”

Jesus, You rose from the dead. In You and by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in me, I already have eternal life. Death is just a doorway from enjoying it here on earth and stepping into eternity where I can see You face to face. This truth is the power of God, the wonder of the Gospel. I’m not only excited to know it, but eager to share it with others.