With Me In Paradise Series

INTRODUCTION

Author Joseph Bayly wrote about death from

firsthand experience. He lost all three of his

children: one at eighteen days, after surgery.

Another died at age five with leukemia. His third

child died at eighteen after a sledding accident

complicated by hemophilia.As a committed

Christian Joseph Bayly knew that he would see his

children in heaven.In his book, The View from A

Hearse, he tells of what he said to offer hope to a

woman whose small son was dying.“It is good to

know, isn’t it,” he said slowly, choosing his words

with unusual care, “that even though the medical

outlook is hopeless, we can have hope for our

children in such a situation.”We can be sure that

after our child dies, he’ll be removed from sickness

and suffering and everything like that, and be

completely well and happy.”“If I could only believe

that,” the woman replied.“But I don’t. When he

dies, I’ll just have to cover him up with dirt and

forget I ever had him.” How sad, but more often

than not, this woman’s words express the hopeless

plight of so many people.Jesus spoke some last

words so we wouldn’t have to feel this way; so we

could know the truth about death and dying.

While hanging on the cross and waiting for physical

death to relieve His unbearable pain, the Lord Jesus

made it plain that life does not end at physical

death. There is hope even in the face of life’s most

tragic and painful experiences.After praying for His

enemies, Jesus turned to a repentant thief on a cross

and assured him that there was something beyond

life on earth.He told the dying thief that because of

his repentance and faith, he was going to heaven.

Uttering another statement from the cross, Jesus

said to the thief, “I TELL YOU THE TRUTH,

TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN

PARADISE.” The word “paradise” is an interesting

word. “Jewish theology had come to use this word

as a metaphor for the presence of God in the world

of unseen spiritual reality.It is only used on two

other occasions in the N.T., but in each case, in a

context which hints at the highest glories of heaven.

Jesus was telling that thief that he would pass from

the scaffold of shame into the joy of God’s

presence forever.”

HEAVEN IS REAL

God sent Jesus to earth to reveal to us the reality of

life after death and to secure for us a place in

heaven. To the grief stricken sister of Lazarus, our

Lord said, “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND

THE LIFE, WHOSEOVER LIVETH AND

BELIEVETH IN ME, THOUGH HE DIE, YET

SHALL HE LIVE.” (John 11:25 & 26) Addressing

his disciples just before His crucifixion, Jesus said

in John 14:2 & 3, “…I AM GOING TO PREPARE

A PLACE FOR YOU….SO THAT WHERE I AM

THERE YOU MAY BE ALSO.” God has a plan for

each one of us. He offers us something beyond this

earthly pilgrimage which is often marked by

sickness,sorrow, suffering and then death.

Although dismissed by many as less than real,

heaven represents ultimate reality. Reality consists

of much more than that which we can detect with

our senses.“Our image of reality is only a partial

picture.Our physical senses are very limited.

For example, if we want to see details of planets, we

need a telescope; if we want to see inside the human

body, we need an x-ray; if we want to look into a

living cell, we need a microscope.We hear

low-pitch sound at about 50 vibrations per second

and high-pitch at about 19,500. Dogs can hear at

24,000 vibrations per second and bats at 80,000,

well beyond our range.” The fact is that all of our

senses are very limited and thus unable to detect

great portions of reality including the existence of

life in the here-after. Not only does heaven represent

the ultimate in reality, it is our ultimate home. Our

fleeting years here on earth are but a minuscule

portion of our journey. Heaven is a place where we

will know life in all its richness and fullness. It is a

place where we will not need our physical bodies in

order to exist. Heaven will be wonderful, beyond

our wildest imaginations. 2 Corinthians 2:9 says,

“NO EYE HAS SEEN, NO EAR HAS HEARD,

NO MIND HAS CONCEIVED WHAT GOD HAS

PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

Heaven is unfathomable to our human minds and it

is our ultimate home. Scripture, therefore, refers to

us as “…STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS ON THIS

EARTH…” (Hebrews 11:13 & 1 Peter 2:1)

HEAVEN IS A GIFT

Not only did the Lord Jesus come to earth to reveal

the reality of heaven, He also came to provide us a

way to get to heaven.Heaven is a gift that God in