Life After Death

Life is so brief, you're here the next minute and gone the next. No one can predict when they're going to depart this world and especially how they're going to leave the Earthly realm. This is a touchy subject I'm about to address, especially for those who have lost someone close to them. Hopefully these words will help someone during their lost of a fellow brother/sister or loved one in Christ.

Let's look at Isaiah 57:2. It says "The righteous perish and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no on understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest at they lie in death."

Let's dive a little deeper into this. The righteous dies and no one really questions why he/she died. Maybe because everyone understands that people eventually die and returns to the dirt. I'm not really sure on that. The next sentence, however, is the key. Devout men are taken away, and no one understands that righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. This is important. Stay with me on this one.

The word says that brothers or sisters in the faith are taken away to be spared from evil. No one could possible fathom the evil or danger that is soon to come, except God. The word says that God is caring and that he knows the plans for you. Let's look another text.

Jeremiah 29:11 says "I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." As the scripture says, He knows the plans for your life. So, how do these scriptures tie in to one another? Here it goes...

God foresaw something in your future that they might not have been ready for. He saw something coming in the near future that couldn't have been handled and they might have lost their mind. Since God knows all, He thought it would've been best to call them home to Him instead of letting them embrace the upcoming danger. There are some things that I want you to remember from this.

Christians don't mourn like sinners or unbelievers. When an unbeliever dies, no one knows where they're going when their name is engraved in the tombstone. Those in the faith are filled with sadness, but in the end they know that the departed are going to be with Christ and the Father. So we can rejoice and celebrate their home-going as God faithfully discharges them from His army and carries them from the battlefield.

Last, but not least, use the departed as motivation. Once a person dies, they're gone. They're not coming back. So use the facts about their death as motivation. In other words, don't let their death be in vain. The unsaved died and they were clueless about their final home. Some were even deceived, either by themselves or by pastors who don't teach the whole truth. That's another story. I'm quite sure you don't want to be unsure about your whereabouts after death. So strengthen your relationship with Christ before the clock stops....