Having just returned from 6 days of vacation that included three different hotels (and rides on 6 different roller coasters in two different amusement parks) I can relate to Stephan Brown’s comments about packing and unpacking while on vacation. He says, “some people when they go on vacation, they get to the hotel room and they unpack everything. They take it all out of the suitcase and put it into those bureaus. I think I did that once when I was staying in the same place for three weeks.
But if I’m only going to be around for a week or a few days, I don’t even bother to unpack. I just leave everything in the suitcase and when I need it, I just take it out. I couldn’t be bothered to get everything settled, because I know that very soon, I’m going to have to pack it all up again.”
But I also agree with what he says next because it relates to our sermon topic of this morning. Notes Brown, “we must have this sort of way of thinking when it comes to life. Now we may be here 80 or 100 years, but compared with eternity, that’s just a weekend trip. If we spend our time focused on this life and this world, then we have wasted our life.
Sometimes we spend our energy trying to build a comfortable or successful life here. Sometimes, it seems that we can so easily forget that we’re just passing through that we not only unpack our suitcase, but we try to decorate the hotel room too. We want to paint the walls, put in a new carpet, refinish the furniture, and hang a few pictures on the wall. Who cares?! Life is too short. We’re just staying for a short trip. No time to unpack.”
We are spending the summer responding to questions people have of God. We have responded to questions about children and their well-being and to questions about how to love our enemy. This morning we focus on some questions that Brown, and more importantly the Bible, answer in regard to the beginnings and endings of life.
Here are some questions about life and death and even the afterlife that were shared with me in response to the question, “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?”
“I was very close to my father, who was a Christian...he passed away about 8 years ago...I would ask God, Can I be assured that I will see my loved ones again in heaven?”
“How is it going to end?’ “Am I going to have a happy memory of life during my last moments, and is my death going to be gruesome or peaceful or painful, and is anybody going to care and if so who is and who isn’t, and will it matter to me when I hear when/which people didn’t care?”
When will you come down to earth so I can meet you in person?
How will people who are as a whole accustomed to everything having a beginning and an end going to cope with the idea of living forever in the next life?
How did God come to be? Are people married in heaven? Are there pets in heaven?
Interesting questions aren’t they?
Does the Bible have any answers for these questions? Yes, there are quite a few answers. In fact, there are so many passages that address these questions that I had trouble knowing where to begin. So, we will take one question at a time and go from there.
“I would ask God, Can I be assured that I will see my loved ones again in heaven?”
The Bible has two seemingly contradictory answers to this question and the question of “Are people married in heaven?” In Romans 8:16 we read, “For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children.”
This is an important text with regard to the issue of our assurance of our salvation and the eternal life with God in heaven this salvation offers. We also read in Hebrews 6:18, “So God has given us both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to his promise with confidence.” In other words, through the internal witness of the Holy Spirit with our spirit and through the truth of God because of His character that is Truth, we can have the assurance that our salvation “sticks” because God wants us to be sure of our salvation.
Yet on the other hand the Bible indicates that there is no marriage in heaven. In fact this question is a very old one and is some what asked by the Sadducees who, as Matthew states in chapter 22 of his gospel account, did not believe in the resurrection after death but they come to Jesus with a question about who will be the husband of a wife after the resurrection who had been married seven times (all to the men in the same family and all of whom who had died).
Jesus responds as we read in verses 29 and 30, “Your problem is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they won’t be married. They will be like the angels in heaven.”
Does this mean then that we won’t see our loved ones who are saved in heaven? No it doesn’t.
But, it does mean that all of the categories we use to define our relationships in this life on earth will not be valid in the afterlife with Christ. In fact, the focus in heaven, as we read in Revelation (especially the closing chapters) will be on God and not us because He will be making things right as He always intended that is should be. God will be the center of our attention as we read in Revelation 21. “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.”
But, we have yet to get there and experience the joys and peace that will come from being in the presence of God and fellow believers. So, we have yet to experience the “rest of the story!”
Speaking of the book of Revelation, some of the questions that have been asked relate to some of the issues and thoughts about the end of time and death and about Christ’s return and the final judgment.
’How is it going to end?’ “Am I going to have a happy memory of life during my last moments, and is my death going to be gruesome or peaceful or painful, and is anybody going to care and if so who is and who isn’t, and will it matter to me when I hear when/which people didn’t care?”
How is it going to end?
Much has been written about the subject of death and the end of human existence as a whole. I believe that this question really has a two-fold meaning. One is based on the follow up questions that are asked that makes the question more personal, “How will my life come to an end? How will I die?” The second meaning is a more global meaning that many people have asked over the course of history regarding the end of this life and this existence.
The Bible has much to say about death. But as we read in Hebrews 9:27-28, “And just as it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died only once as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people,” we are aware that death is a universal reality.
But questions remain about death and the questions of “will it be painful or peaceful” are questions that have no easy or for sure answers to them. We don’t know when or where or how we are going to die. But the suddenness of death, especially in this post-9/11 world, is a reality that we must accept and deal with each day.
And with regard to the memories we have as death comes to us, they will be based on the choices and decisions that we make today. The Bible makes that clear in Galatians 6, “You will always reap what you sow! Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.”
But one thing is for sure, there will be those who care about us when either we are close to death or have died. That is why we have funerals – to mourn the passing of someone we cared about and loved. Grief is a part of life. Learning how to grieve well is an important part of living. Some are uncomfortable with grieving and weeping but we read in Hebrews 12:15, “When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow.”
Most important however is the reality that God cares more than anyone else. He created us, He has given us life, He wants us to live and live well and it is His desire that we experience the life that He has for us. And so when death is near for us – God is going to be closer to us than anyone else is. My question is, “Are we spiritually prepared for death?”
Jane White tells the story about a priest in Dublin who explained the difference between this life and the next life by talking about the life of the dragonfly. “At the bottom of the pond,” he said, “little grubs were crawling around. They wonder what happens to their members who climb up the stem of the lily and never come back. “I wonder what its like up there.” They agree among themselves that the next one who is called to the surface will come back. The next little grub that finds itself drawn to the surface by nature crawls up the stem and out on the surface on the lily leaf.
It was really bright up there. It had been so dark and murky down below. He thinks that his brother grubs down below won’t believe this. Suddenly something begins to happen. The grub begins to open out. The grub spreads out two huge colored wings and becomes a beautiful dragonfly. It never imagines that this could have happened. It thought it would remain a grub forever. It flew back and forth across the pond. It could see the other grubs in the pond below but they couldn’t see it. It realized there was no way it could get back and that they could not recognize such a beautiful creature as ever having been one of them.”
The question, How will people who are as a whole accustomed to everything having a beginning and an end going to cope with the idea of living forever in the next life? is a mind boggling question. But in I Corinthians 2:9, Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
We understandably have difficulty in grasping in this life the concept of eternity. But, perhaps we will in that time and place because of the transformation in us that will have taken place when we are in the presence of God. The best is yet to be.
Finally, “When will you come down to earth so I can meet you in person?” and “Are there pets in heaven?”
In Revelation 21:1 we read, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.” “A new heaven and a new earth,” hmmm… what does a new earth mean?
Does it mean that the planet earth will still exist but be changed into (or back to) a state of purity and innocence like it was before the sin of Adam and Eve? Paul says in Romans 8, that creation “is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are” and “anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay,” because, “creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Does this mean that creation will return to its pre-Eden state and there will be a relationship with creation that includes pets? We really don’t know for sure until that day. But this idea of a new earth is one that continues to intrigue me. And, for what’s it worth, John Wesley, the founder of what is now known as Methodism, believed that he would see his horse in heaven. And Wesley was a very Biblical person.
Finally, when is Jesus coming back? It is a question that has generated a lot of books and discussion and disagreement. But the Bible is clear from places like Acts 1:11 when the angels said to the remaining disciples as Jesus ascended into heaven, that Christ will return and that we will stand before Him and give an account of our lives and, based on whether or not we have accepted His salvation or not, will then face either an eternity with Him or an eternity in Hell. Of that we can be sure.
We don’t know when Jesus will return. We speculate as to when and many try to determine when He will, but we just don’t know. But are we ready? Are we spiritually prepared? That’s the most important thing.
Our main scripture verse for today is Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the Almighty One.”
Someone has written a stirring poem entitled “The First and The Last” that I conclude with this morning:
He is the First and Last, the Beginning and the End!
He is the keeper of Creation and the Creator of all!
He is the Architect of the universe and
The Manager of all times.
He always was, He always is, and He always will be...
Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, and never Undone!
He was bruised and brought healing!
He was pierced and eased pain!
He was persecuted and brought freedom!
He was dead and brought life!
He is risen and brings power!
He reigns and brings Peace!
The world can’t understand him,
The armies can’t defeat Him,
The schools can’t explain Him, and
The leaders can’t ignore Him.
Herod couldn’t kill Him,
The Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him, and
The people couldn’t hold Him!
Nero couldn’t crush Him,
Hitler couldn’t silence Him,
The New Age can’t replace Him, and
Talk show hosts can’t explain Him away!
He is light, love, longevity, and Lord.
He is goodness, kindness, gentleness, and God.
He is Holy, Righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure.
His ways are right,
His word is eternal,
His will is unchanging, and
His mind is on me.
He is my Redeemer,
He is my Savior,
He is my guide, and
He is my peace!
He is my Joy,
He is my comfort,
He is my Lord, and
He rules my life!
I serve Him because His bond is love,
His burden is light, and
His goal for me is abundant life.
I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise,
The power of the powerful,
The ancient of days, the ruler of rulers,
The leader of leaders, the overseer of the overcomers, and
The sovereign Lord of all that was and is and is to come.
And if that seems impressive to you, try this for size.
His goal is a relationship with ME!
He will never leave me,
Never forsake me,
Never mislead me,
Never forget me,
Never overlook me, and
Never cancel my appointment in His appointment book!
When I fall, He lifts me up!
When I confess failure, He forgives!
When I am weak, He is strong!
When I am lost, He is the way!
When I am afraid, He is my courage!
When I stumble, He steadies me!
When I am hurt, He heals me!
When I am broken, He mends me!
When I am blind, He leads me!
When I am hungry, He feeds me!
When I face trials, He is with me!
When I face persecution, He shields me!
When I face problems, He comforts me!
When I face loss, He provides for me!
When I face Death, He carries me Home!
He is everything for everybody, everywhere,
Every time, and every way.
He is God, He is faithful.
I am His, and He is mine!
My Father in heaven can whip the father of this world.
So, if you’re wondering why I feel so secure, understand this...
He said it and that settles it.
God is in control, I am on His side, and
That means all is well with my soul.
AMEN? AMEN!
Is it well with your soul? Are you prepared to meet God today? You can be for it simply takes a few moments to turn your life over to God as you confess your sins and ask for His forgiveness and then begin to live for Him. Are you willing and able to do that this morning? I invite you to do so. Amen
Brown’s story, White’s story, and poem are from sermoncentral.com
