Category: Life After Death

What’s the Difference with the Damned?

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At the end of this world and the beginning of the next, we will all stand before our Creator. He will judge each one of us. Of that fact, there is no doubt. The question is, what’s the difference with the damned? Why will some be forever cast into what God has termed “the lake of fire”? For that matter, why will some be spared such condemnation? There exists near the end of the book of Revelation a short passage that brings the essence of the difference into sharp focus. Let’s read it first:

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15, ESV)

Here we have a summary of the judgment of people who will be forever damned. We notice first that not even the earth or sky itself can stand in the presence of God’s holiness as He begins the final judgment. There is, therefore, no refuge for anyone to escape or to have eased the devastation of what is about to take place. Notice, secondly, that all of the dead – both the great and the small – must stand before the throne. Your soul’s destiny depends not on how influential or wealthy you were in this life, and your status of seeming insignificance or poverty does not excuse you from judgment; all must stand before the throne.

The key component on which we want to focus here is the books that are opened. First, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John tells us in this passage that “books were opened.” Then he adds that “another book was opened, which is the book of life” (verse 12). We clearly understand, then, that this one book of life stands out from the other books. There is a group of books which are unnamed, and there is the book of life.

We are informed that the dead – the “spiritually dead” that is – are judged by what is written in the unspecified books. The contents of these books must be the sinful acts of the damned, because we are told simultaneously that these people were judged “according to what they had done” (verse 12). And no one escapes; the sea (the troubled and sinful world, as I understand it) and all of Death and Hades had to give up the dead in their possession. In other words, no matter when these people had died, no matter if their spirits and bodies had long been separated from God or only shortly, no matter if their bodies had been in the ground for thousands of years or just a few moments, no matter where they had died, and no matter from where they came, death had to yield to God its power over people so that God could make His final, sovereign, and irrevocable judgment.

Death obeys … and gives them up. The solemn words of verse thirteen demonstrate the complete power of almighty God, as Death and Hades give up the dead and “they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done” (verse 13). We observe here the repeating of the same phrase we saw in verse twelve. We read twice that the damned are judged by the things that they did. Their wrong, ungodly, and rebellious actions and words – their sins – are here resulting in an eternal destiny. On the basis of their own sins, they are forever damned to the lake of fire.

Verse fifteen adds one specific emphasis; those who end up in the lake of fire also did not have their names placed in the book of life. Not only do the condemned find themselves paying finally for their sinfulness, but their doom is doubly sealed, for their names are not recorded in the one book that stands alone – the book of life. Clearly, the one difference between the damned and the saved – between those who are put in the lake of fire and those who are not – is one factor. Is his or her name written in this book of life? If a name is not written in that one book, then all of his sins are heaped upon him at the end of time.

I want to make this point unequivocally plain: you will either be judged by your sins or judged by your inclusion in the book of life. You will either one day have the culmination of all the guilt and punishment for rebelling against God heaped on you as your sins are read from many books, or you will stand before the throne and hear only one thing called out to you – your name from the one book of life. All the sins that I have ever committed brought to me for damnation, or hearing God read my name from a book that ensures my safety and everlasting delight – those are the choices.

So how do we get our name in the book of life? We need to know the Owner of the book! We need to have a relationship with the Person to whom that book belongs! He is Jesus. Revelation 21:27 calls that one book “the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 13:8 labels it “the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” There is only one Lamb with a capital “L.” There is only one slain Lamb that ultimately matters when it comes to my sin and my destiny. John the Baptist said it best, as recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter one, verse 29, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” The Apostle Peter corroborates John the Baptist’s statement in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “…knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

Jesus was the Lamb who was put to death for our sins. He spilled His own blood on the Cross of Calvary to pay for your sinfulness. When He gave up His life that day outside the gates of Jerusalem, He took your sin upon His own shoulders – IF you believe in Him. If you truly believe in the Jesus of the Cross, the Jesus of the Bible, the Jesus who invaded earthly history to die and rise again, the Jesus who is coming back one day, the Jesus who is the ONLY ONE who can pay for your sin and put your name in the wonderful book of life – if you believe in Him, you are safe from eternal condemnation and the lake of fire. This belief in Him must be real and applied. You have to believe in Jesus to the point that it changes your reality. To truly believe in Him means to accept all of His Word as revealed in the Bible. It means to completely change your mind about your sin and know in the deepest place of your heart that you need His blood and His forgiveness. It means to live with Him and for Him each day. It is a relationship.

If your name is in the Lamb’s book of life, then never will your sins be brought up to condemn you at the end of time. While the sins of the damned are reiterated as the evidence of their rightful judgment, the only thing you will hear is your name – called lovingly from the Lamb’s book. Why will you not hear your sins proclaimed? Because your sins were judged on the Cross with Jesus when He suffered and died. Your sins have been paid for – never to condemn you before God!

Oh, Jesus, how we love You! Dear Jesus, how we thank You! As the Apostle Paul put it in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And we can joyfully add to this glorious statement the truth of the book of Revelation and know that there is no damnation and lake of fire for those whose names are written in Jesus’ book of life!

– Shelli S. Prindle

What About Suicide

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suicide

Suicide is both a delicate and a critical subject. It involves the taking of life, which is the most precious thing God has entrusted to humans. (Gen. 2:7) In fact, it was the life of God’s Son that had to be given to pay the price for our redemption and escape from eternal death. Life is invaluable, therefore murder is a sin (Ex. 20:13). Moreover, God has given us a way to a living hope – a substantive hope that never dies, despite the worst trials and temptations. (1 Pet. 1:3, 6-7). He does this through the resurrection of His Son over sin and death, the ultimate proof that life is the way of God.

When it comes to the ultimate outcome of someone committing suicide, the two options are the same as for any other person: eternal life or eternal damnation (John 3:36). Those are the only two existing categories for a person who leaves this temporary world and enters the next. When we try to contemplate how the sin of suicide plays into God’s judgment, we need to remember that all sin is covered by the blood of Jesus Christ for the one who truly believes in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Although the Bible does not explicitly spell out the eternal destiny of those who commit suicide, we know, indeed, that some among us who have committed murder are in Heaven. We need only to think of Moses and David (Ex. 2:12, 2 Sam. 11:15). Both these men of God murdered at one point, but neither of them made the pattern of murderous sin the way of their lives. The difference between a Christian who sins and an unsaved person who sins is that the true believer repents of his sin and hates it, while the unbeliever thinks not much of his sin and would do it again without any strain against her conscience toward Her Creator. Revelation 21:8 clearly explains of murderers that “their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” However, it is also there said of liars and idolaters, for example, that they will be in the same eternal fire. Every one of us has lied and put other people or things ahead of God (idolatry). We, nonetheless, do not conclude that our place will be in the lake of fire if we are trusting in Jesus Christ and hate what hurts Him and His kingdom rather than embracing such iniquity (1 Pet. 2:24). It is our salvation by Jesus that ensures our eternal destiny. (John 5:24)

The ultimate question here, then, is whether or not a follower of Jesus Christ can commit suicide. For, only followers of Jesus are safe in His presence subsequent to earthly death. This is an inquiry that cannot be unequivocally answered by mortals – even with full appeal to the Word of God. I think immediately of Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” How eloquently here does the Spirit express that there are things that only God can know, especially when it comes to issues of His judgment and mercy – as in the context of this verse. What we should point out, though, is that while some things are secret, the things that are revealed are to be known and obeyed. We have enough of God’s Word to understand that He gives to His people what is necessary to overcome in all predispositions, circumstances, and temptations. 1 Cor. 10:13 proclaims, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Also, 2 Pet. 2:9 declares that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials.” With these two verses alone, I am compelled to believe that I can have victory over sin and the most terrible of trials.

However, the Bible undeniably reveals a grace, a help, and a forgiveness that meets the Christian at his point of failure. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). These words bring boundless comforts, because we know that Jesus is our Defense. He took the hit in His body and His death for all our sin. “Propitiation” means appeasement. Jesus appeases the wrath of God on behalf of all who sincerely are trusting in Christ as their Savior. Nowhere does the Bible say that the sin of suicide is excluded from the practical reaches of this Scripture. However, nowhere does the Bible say that suicide is excluded from the incontrovertible promise of God’s sustaining grace in trials and provision for victory over sin in the aforementioned verses. Therefore, it seems that the question of whether or not a heaven-bound Christian can commit suicide is ultimately one of the secrets of God, but general parameters for the topic have been made known. As Matthew Henry (1662-1714), the great Bible commentator said, “We are forbidden curiously to inquire into the secret counsels of God, and to determine concerning them. But we are directed and encouraged, diligently to seek into that which God has made known. He has kept back nothing that is profitable for us, but only that of which it is good for us to be ignorant. The end of all Divine revelation is, not to furnish curious subjects of speculation and discourse, but that we may do all the words of this law, and be blessed in our deed. This, the Bible plainly reveals; further than this, man cannot profitably go. By this light he may live and die comfortably, and be happy forever.”

When asked my humble opinion on the matter, I lean toward believing that I will meet a few people in Heaven who are now truly repentant after having committed the sin of self-murder. In the Lord’s presence, they now see clearly the purpose their pain could have served, and the sustaining grace the Lord could have shown them. But is not that true of all of us, for all our mistrust and sin? I would caution, however, that judgment for Christians is real. Though we make Heaven despite our sins because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can lose eternal reward. If one cuts short his life by committing suicide, one forfeits untold reward for the days not lived on earth that had a purpose in Jesus. So much pain will have been caused, so much confusion will have been disseminated, and so many of the good plans of God will have gone unfulfilled. We simply cannot deny 2 Cor. 5:10 or 1 Cor. 3:13-15, “Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

Finally, we must treat this subject as we should carefully treat many others – with thoughtfulness and a heart full of mercy toward others and humility toward the Lord. This is a mysterious area on which we tread. Only God Himself sees through to the core of who we are. “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13). I think of the way the winsome C.S. Lewis put it, “We see only the results which a man’s choices make out of his raw material. But God does not judge him on the raw material at all, but on what he has done with it. Most of the man’s psychological makeup is probably due to his body: when his body dies all that will fall off him, and the real central man, the thing that chose, that made the best or worst out of this material, will stand naked. All sorts of nice things which we thought our own, but which were really due to a good digestion, will fall off some of us: all sorts of nasty things which were due to complexes or bad health will fall off others. We shall then, for the first time, see every one as he really was. There will be surprises.”

Here is the bottom line, “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). Until then, let us live according to what God has given us with every ounce of strength we have. And let us hold out all hope that the blood of Jesus Christ is fully sufficient for the sin we so awfully commit.

The Very First Thing God Ever Told Us To Do

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When the average person (or even an average Christian) thinks about the commands of God, he thinks mainly of all God says we can’t do. Our minds first go to the Ten Commandments, where we are instructed in many “no’s.” Do not take God’s name in vain, do not murder, do not steal, etc. Sadly and mistakenly, we often think of Christianity in terms of what is forbidden, rather than the glorious promise of all that is given!

Do you know what is the first command of God directly to humans? It’s certainly not a “don’t do this” instruction. It’s actually a “do everything” kind of command! Check out God’s first mandate in Genesis 1:28 (ESV). Keep in mind that at this point He has just created Adam and Eve and has not yet put the close on the sixth day of creation. No sin has yet entered the picture. The Bible boldly proclaims, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on earth.'”

So there stand the first two human beings, having been blessed by their Creator and commanded to fill up the earth and take charge of it! They are to subdue under their feet all God has given to them. They are to bring glory to their Creator by ruling for Him at His direction while walking in unhindered relationship with Him.

Imagine the scene back then. Adam and Eve are standing on that section of earth in what is now the Middle East. How would they proceed to fill the earth? At the very least, this meant to bear children. But to fill the earth – to get from where they were to all over the earth – they would need transportation. For transportation they would need to observe and study and learn about all the natural resources God had given. They would need to educate the children and families. They would need to build societal structure as the population increased. Housing would be necessary. As society grew, cities would be built. Government would be established. Systems of trade and buying would be developed. Education must continue. Harnessing resources for medicinal purposes would become necessary. People would learn to specialize in their areas of passion and ability.

Fast forward to today. Eventually even the silicon God put in the earth’s crust would be used to build computers. Those computers would access the internet that humans developed. That technology combined with more advanced transportation methods would enable the Gospel to be spread throughout the world in order that Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19 (ESV) might be fulfilled, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, …”

You see, the first command of God is critical and eternal. Knowing that we would fall into sin, God still gave this original mandate to people. We are to be his vice-regents, harnessing the stuff of the world in order to take dominion for God’s purposes. The instruction God gave in Genesis 1:28 is often referred to as the “Cultural Commission” or the “Cultural Mandate.” It is a beautiful gift to each of us. We can get up each morning and take our part in filling and subduing the earth. We can use the passions God has given to us and enjoy being who He made us to be. In order for us to take dominion, some will have to enjoy academics, some car repair, some construction, some teaching, some musical arts, some medicine, some government, some space exploration, some farming, some manufacturing, some engineering, some journalism, some cleaning, some ocean exploration, some nutritional science, some economics, etc. We are commanded by God to enjoy and take pride in our calling, knowing that all work is sacred when done in obedience to Genesis 1:28. The person delivering packages to our doorstep does sacred work just as the Sunday school teacher – if both are responding to the call of God to fill and subdue this creation for His glory.

One of the greatest gifts for which we can be thankful is the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:28. This gift never ends. God is not going to throw away His creation. He will redeem it and remake it. And I will miraculously dwell one day in this New Heavens and New Earth, passionately studying and teaching as I do now, and exploring a universe restored by my Jesus! We will learn, travel, explore, engage, eat, connect, laugh, run, rule, and reign under the King of Kings!

The critical change will be that the curse of sin will have been removed. We will at last be free to pursue God’s will unhindered by the burdens and stresses we now carry. Our sinfulness has caused our work to contain an element of pain and disappointment (Genesis 3:16-19). In the new creation, all that misery will be removed (Revelation 22:3). We will pursue the desires God put in our heart without resistance – the ultimate fulfillment of Psalm 37:4. What a day that will be!

Do you remember hearing that familiar Christmas passage from Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)? “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”

That child, Jesus, was born so that the command and promise of Genesis 1:28 could continue in my life. He came to die and pay for the sin that otherwise would damn me and banish me from a relationship with Him now and the New Heavens and New Earth to come. Were it not for the sacrifice of the Son of God, my part in the glorious Kingdom of God would come to nothing. But, because of Jesus, I will be a part of the plan. “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,” and I will be there … doing what He made me to do …. reigning with Him!

If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him …” 2 Timothy 2:11b-12 (ESV)

Can You Be Sure?

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Belief in a vague idea of Heaven and Hell is one thing, but confidence in the place to which you are personally headed is another, as I experienced in a recent encounter.

God never meant for our destiny to be unclear in the least. He intends for us to have assurance of the outcome of our lives, and I believe that is one reason the devil tries frantically to steal from humans a true understanding of their eternal condition.

Have you ever heard someone say falteringly, “I hope I make it to Heaven” or “I’m trying to be good so I can go to Heaven”? Those who say such things demonstrate a hesitance to declare with boldness a truth about their future … and their present.

After getting a refill on my iced tea at a local restaurant, I paused at the table of an older gentleman with whom I have tried to have several conversations about Jesus. This dear man struggles with guilt about many things – including his service in Vietnam. In the past, I have assured him that we are all on equal ground as sinners and that I am no better off before God than he is. We all have selfish hearts and are corrupted at the core. The only difference is that I have trusted Jesus to be my righteousness for me, because He bore the penalty of God’s wrath against me at the Cross.

On one particular afternoon, this man was sharing a conversation he had just had with a cardiac nurse who was trying to discern whether or not he understood the seriousness of his condition. He told me that he proudly declared to her, “I am not afraid of dying; everyone has to die.” Then he said to the nurse, “The only thing we have to be afraid of is where we go after we die … and no one can know that ahead of time!”

Wow. This confused gentleman actually had the first part of his idea correct to some degree; for Jesus said, “And do not fear those who kill the body [Satan and his followers] but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him [God] who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28, ESV) Obviously, there is validity to a healthy fear of our soul ending up in Hell.

It is the second part of this man’s thought that I had to immediately and gently confront, for it was way off base. His real fear was in the not knowing that he could know where he was headed.

I looked at him, addressed him by name, and said, “Yes you can know where you are going. I know. I know because I believe in Jesus and trust His sacrifice for my sin.” I could have added, “And I have trusted His life for my living”! However, my hurting friend soon changed the subject – still not ready to deal with the main issue of his soul.

The Bible is unequivocal in its assertion that we can know our destiny. The Apostle John proclaims I John 5:12-13 (ESV), “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Notice – amazingly – that our assurance of our place after death is directly related to our current status of life. Those who are certain of Heaven in the future have that confidence based on the reality of Jesus’ life in them presently. If a man, woman, or child has the Son of God as the source of their forgiveness and hope, then that person already has life. Eternal life is a continuum. It begins with true, life-changing belief in Jesus (not simply mental assent) that continues drawing us closer to Him and His will, and then it culminates in the reality of Heaven.

Do you have the Son of God? Really have Him? For you who want the promise of Heaven, He cannot simply be a mental concept or a part of your life. He must be your life. That life He gives you is eternal. He gives it now, and He sustains it past your death and into an infinite future. Amen!

47th Greatest Invention . . .

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Though the printing press was deemed the number one innovation since the invention of the wheel by The Atlantic magazine’s group of scientists, historians, and technologists; it was number 47 on the list that caught my eye. Don’t get me wrong, we as Christians understand God’s hand in the development of the printing press, for God chose to reveal Himself through a book! However, check out the succinct description of the 47th greatest breakthrough since the wheel according to The Atlantic: “The nail, second millennium B.C. ‘Extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.’ -Leslie Berlin”

Wow. The nail enabled people to have shelter. Though Leslie Berlin was probably thinking of the physical shelter nails help to provide when they are pounded into wood and concrete, my mind went immediately to the spiritual shelter we find because of the three nails used by Roman soldiers two thousand years ago. And actually, those three nails were in the “hands” of God the Father, who willingly sacrificed His Son so you and I might find shelter from the justly deserved wrath of a Holy God. The ultimate effect of my own sin cannot rain down upon me, because I am under the shelter of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that old, rugged Cross.

The Atlantic says that nails “extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.” Again – no doubt – the extension refers to earthly years. Physical life could go on longer because our bodies were better protected from the elements, wild animals, and enemies. But we as children of God apprehend the measureless value of spiritual life. No matter the year or day of our physical demise, salvation ensures eternal life. As Peter so beautifully records, “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable” (I Peter 1:23, ESV). The nails that pierced the body of Jesus on Mount Calvary have brought to us an endlessly extended life!

Just as those nails of long ago punctured the physical body of Jesus, they will also help bring to our physical bodies the new and glorified existence we shall enjoy forever and ever. I Thessalonians 3:20b-21 (ESV) proclaims, “We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” The crucifixion of Jesus – aided by nails – ensures our safety in an incalculable and everlasting sense.

A thank you to The Atlantic for reminding us of the importance of nails. We take much for granted. And the biggest thank you to our God who gave humans the capacity to invent the nail, which He knew would be used to crucify His own Son. No doubt, God was thinking of sheltering us when He created trees and inspired the invention of nails.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'” (Psalm 91:1-2, ESV)

Reference: Fallows, James. “The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel.” The Atlantic. Nov 2013. 56-58.

Do Babies Go To Heaven When They Die?

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This question is one close to our hearts. As the Bible does not spell out the answer in any particular manner, I will render my opinion based on the “big picture” of God’s revelation.

First, we understand that no circumstance is unused by God; He “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11, ESV). Therefore, we trust that even the tragedy of the death of King David’s little child had many purposes. One reason, I believe, is for countless people to glean hope regarding the death of children. After praying and fasting that His child not die, David arose and ate upon hearing of the death of his son. When criticized by his servants for rising and eating, David explained, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (II Samuel 12:22-23, ESV, emphasis mine)

King David certainly knew the depths of God’s mercy and salvation. The Holy Spirit has chosen to reveal through the situation the fact that David believed he would one day go to his child. The man of God was obviously convinced that he would be reunited with his son in an actual way. In David’s heart, there existed a comfort in knowing the reality of a place called Heaven and his child’s location and safety there.

Second, in the New Testament we catch the heartbeat of Jesus when children were brought to Him to be prayed for and to have the Son of God lay hands on them. The disciples rebuked people for bothering Jesus with children, but our Lord proclaimed, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14, ESV)

The Greek word for “children” here includes little ones and infants. Jesus made one thing abundantly clear to both his disciples and the broader public – God wants children coming to Him! He even speaks metaphorically of the need for people of all ages to trust and be vulnerable as children, for this represents the heart of those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In terms of the issue at hand, we see – most importantly – that Jesus is very much for children coming to Him and against their being held back from His presence.

Third, Romans 1:18-20 concisely explains that people are without excuse before God because they knowingly suppress the truth that is before them and refuse to acknowledge the existence of a Creator to whom we are accountable, in light of the evidence of the created universe. How could infants and small children possibly apprehend the truth revealed in creation and the attributes of God made evident by what He has designed? How could babies suppress truth? We logically begin to see that small children could not fit into the category of those “without excuse.” For that matter, nor could the severely mentally challenged people of the world. And although God does not go on to explicitly outline a sub-category for infants and those without sufficient mental capacity, we catch glimpses of His heart elsewhere.

For the three main reasons outlined above, I believe we will be joyfully reunited in Heaven with the people we have known here on earth for such a short period of time because of their death in infancy or childhood. Ultimately, we stand on the words of Abraham in Genesis 18:25 (NIV, 1984), “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

How to Have the Best Thanksgiving Ever!

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I recently read a story concerning a thief who operated in movie theaters. With a female accomplice, he would visit movie theaters when “girl movies” were showing. Sitting in the back of theater, the burglar would scope out places where women with purses were sitting. As soon as the lights went down, this robber would slither on the theater floor in order to reach under the seats of unsuspecting victims and take their purses. While on the floor, he extracted wallets and took out credit cards from them. The thief would then replace the wallet in the handbag and leave the purse in its original spot. Surely, many victims did not even realize that they had been stolen from until hours or possibly days later.

Similarly, the enemy of our souls is stealing meaning from our lives. Culturally speaking, the lights have been dimmed, and we barely realize the danger. Our grave situation is made clearer at the holidays. As the deeper meaning of the holidays decreases, our level of anxiety increases. So it is with life in general. This inverse relationship – the rise of anxiety with the decline of true meaningfulness – is plaguing us. Let us, therefore, use the microcosm of the Thanksgiving holiday as an example of how to view the vital nature of life as it should be according to God’s perspective. Perhaps we will recover meaning and eliminate much of our growing anxiousness. No one knows the needs of the human heart better than the Designer and Builder of the heart. God understands what the greatest focus of thankfulness should be. He realizes why we are so often left empty and fretting after a season that should produce joy. He recognizes our shortsightedness. Our God wants us to press past the shallow waters and swim into the sea of meaning that sustains the soul.

When it comes to Thanksgiving, for what are you thankful? Let’s discuss a couple typical, good answers:

1) Food. Many of us are thankful for turkey, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. In fact, we are rightfully grateful for God’s provision of food each day. This status of heart is biblical and good. However, we must be thankful for something deeper. While perusing the sad memoir of avowed atheist, Christopher Hitchens, as he outlined his thoughts during his final months of earthly life; I was reminded of the frailty of the human body and how easily our appetite can be crushed by sickness. There will come a day for everyone when we will take our last bite of earthly food. No wonder we read the amazing words of Jesus to a seeking crowd in John chapter six. After Jesus fed a group of 5000 people, some from the crowd took efforts to follow Christ to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They had obviously been impressed by His ability to fill their stomachs, and they crossed a sea to get back to Him. As the crowd approached, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (John 6:26-27, ESV). Jesus is not here the seeker-friendly Savior some might expect Him to be. Rather, he chastises people who are looking for Him because of a temporary, physical blessing. He targets the core of their desires by declaring they should have interpreted the miracle of the multiplied bread and fish as a “sign.” A sign points to something else; it is not the destination. The physical bread for bodily hunger was meant to show people their need to be filled spiritually with the gift of eternal life in exchange for an insatiable spiritual hunger that – when left untreated – results in spiritual death. Jesus clearly demonstrates that our hope lies in a God who is bigger than the food He provides. This is a God who can take care of the body even when it is no longer physically able to consume food – even when it dies! This God will resurrect the physical body of those who have eternal life. We will eat again in Heaven, because we have “eaten” of Jesus, the Bread of Life! (John 6:48).

If literal food is all for which we are thankful, our hope is negated and our life is dismal; for eating in this body will come to an end. If we are grateful for literal bread because it points to the Bread of Life, then life is rich beyond description! We eat now and are reminded of the blessings of living in the new heavens and the new earth; as Jesus proclaimed, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51, ESV).

2) Home and country. We are thankful for our homes and our country, as we should be. Many do not have this blessing. However, we must remember to recognize and believe all of God’s truth found in His Word. One of Jesus’ closest friends, Peter, said by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit in II Peter chapter three that this world and every place therein will one day be dissolved. As great as is the United States of America and as precious as is your warm and inviting home and its accompanying yard, these will not survive the intentional and glorious destruction and re-making of the world! As people must be remade in order to fit the holy plan of God (II Corinthians 5:17), so, too, must the universe. God’s mysterious working will take place with fire. As gold is refined and perfected in fire, so the cosmos will be perfected – set free from the misery it endures under the curse of sin (Romans 8:22). We cannot rely on this current world; we must count on the God who is the only continuum between this world and the next. Hear God’s Word: “By the same word [of God] the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men . . . The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare . . . Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (II Peter 3:7,10-13, NIV, 1984).

While we are grateful for our shelter and our place of existence in this universe, we are most thankful for a God who is greater than the sum total of all the cosmos. Not only so, but we rejoice in the fact that God has chosen to deposit in our very being a spiritual kingdom that cannot be shaken or dissolved! Listen carefully to the promise of Hebrews 12:26-28 (NASB), “But now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.’ This expression, ‘Yet once more,’ denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude . . .” Wow! we are thankful because we have inside of us the kingdom of God. Jesus has made the way for you and me to survive the shaking, undoing, and re-making of all His creation. Never will we disappear or be hopelessly destroyed. Though food and places may perish, we remain to enjoy the new place and the new food Jesus is preparing.

Please allow Thanksgiving this year to point to a greater truth – a deeper meaning than the temporal blessings humans enjoy to greatly varying degrees depending on their socioeconomic status and geographical location on this earth. Let this season be one that lifts your soul to an amazing God full of grace to give us such promise. He alone is unshakeable; but – amazingly – He deposits that hope in us. If today you took your last bite or enjoyed your last day in your home your God is still holding you. He is still holding the world. And while He is re-making both, He will let go of neither. Tenaciously, faithfully, and triumphantly; the plan of God goes on. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to enjoy the “Bread of Life” and the “Home of Righteousness.”

Happy Thanksgiving, unshakeable kingdom recipients!

Reality Just Beyond the Glass

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I sit behind a polished windowpane
Hearing the hum of heated air through vents.

On the other side of the glass
Lie trees in autumn splendor on a hillside.

The gentle breeze takes yellowish foliage
To a carpet of gold and green below.

Wafting in every direction under sunlight,
Drop beautiful leaves.

On goes a gorgeous shower of what was,
Making room for what will be.

The sunbeams on the shimmering trees
And the continual dance of the season proceeds;

As I sit behind glass panes in a building made by man,
Peering out at the artistry of God.

On the wall beside me hangs a framed photograph
Of an autumn scene.

While beautiful the picture is,
It does not compare to the reality just beyond the glass.

What comes directly from God
Cannot be adequately reproduced by man.

Chairs, buildings, heating systems, automobiles,
Framed art, calculators, tennis shoes, cherry pie, basketballs.

All these reflect the mind of our Creator,
Who designed our minds to design these things.

Yet, for all we make,
Nothing compares to what God creates!

Galaxies, mountains, antelopes, apple trees,
Sunshine, emeralds, sharks, bluebirds, waterfalls.

I appreciate the comfortable library in which I sit.
I enjoy looking out its windows when the ice of winter comes.

But my soul longs for the day
When I will not be separated from any of the handiwork of God.

I wait for the day when the city in which I walk
Will not have been manufactured by the hand of people.

Come quickly the day when everything about existence is as beautiful and rich as God intended,
Untainted by the messiness of humanity.

I wait for . . .
“The holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”

A city that comes from Heaven, right down from the throne of God!
This will be my home!

In that day, nothing will be unsatisfactory
Because nothing will be “once-removed” from God’s perfection.

All will be as He desires,
Which is – in our heart of hearts – what we, in fact, desire.

We will work beside Him then,
For He will finally and fully dwell with us.

The work of men will be the work of God,
For then we shall completely please Him.

All creation will be new – and uncursed –
Never wearing out, never growing old.

We will create and enjoy and explore forever
Because of the grace of precious Jesus . . .

When we finally enter the reality just beyond the glass.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” (I Corinthians 13:12, KJV)

“I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:2, ESV)

Autumn Reminders of an Eternal Kind

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‘For “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.”‘ – I Peter 1:24 (NIV – 1984)

Fall. It is a season that reminds us of endings. Once thriving leaves now drop from their branches bursting with color, but dying. Beautiful summer flowers have lost their grandeur and now succumb to hues of brown and gray. Colder temperatures flow in and bright, long days full of sunshine move out. We are inundated with change. We are regularly reminded of our helplessness to stop the flow of God’s creation. We are caught between summer and winter in the fleeting uniqueness of autumn. Though the season brings its own joy with fabulous scents and colors of orange, yellow, and red; we know it is the end of summer and the start of a period of dormancy and cold.

As we enjoy the changes of fall, let it remind us of a vital truth. I believe God intends for us to see with physical eyes something that points to a lasting, spiritual truth. When you look at a fallen leaf or disintegrating, summer flower; think this thought:

    “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” (I Peter 1:24, NIV, 1984)

Let crinkling leaves and fallen blossoms remind us of something God wants always at the base of our thinking – we are finite and fallen and soon to pass. Any glory we claim to have is as transitory as summer leaves. We live and we die. We seek to accomplish much, but in the end we disappear from this earth. We cannot prevent our own demise. We stand helpless before our “fall.” Except for one thing!

Notice the severe difference God highlights between people and His Word. People wither and fall as the grass. God’s Word stands forever! God’s Word never bends, stoops, or loses its glory. Its beauty never fades; it’s “color” never wanes. No season comes that stops God’s Word. It endures, and endures with full dignity – “standing,” as it were! No weather pattern knocks God’s Word down. No disease causes His Word to waste away. No disaster or tragedy causes His Word to twist or weaken. Through every change, through every heart break, through every earth-shattering event, through death itself; the Word of God stands!

I believe God purposefully showed us the drastic difference between our glory and His Word here in I Peter to remind us to stay focused on Him and not our own selves. I believe one of the reasons for autumn is to demonstrate through His creation an important reminder about human nature when compared to God. Our Lord graciously desires us to live with a constant awareness of our impermanent nature and His eternal nature. Of our failing attempts and His trustworthy ways. Of our sinfulness and His holiness. Of our dependence and His self-sufficiency. Of our need for His Word at the deepest and broadest levels.

You see, God reminds us at the end of I Peter 1:25 (NIV, 1984), “And this is the word that was preached to you.” This is no small or incidental statement! The Word that stands forever can be accepted into your own heart! The seed of God’s Word can be planted in your soul so that the death of you is certainly not the end of you!

God expresses this hope very succinctly in I Peter 1:22 (NIV, 1984), “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” Do you see it? We can be born again of an imperishable seed through God’s Word! When I put my hope for forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ, I am born of a seed that cannot be abolished – a seed that lasts forever and ever. The enduring Word of God gives me eternal, unbending life. Come seasons, winds, storms, difficulties, even death itself; but I will survive and live forever because the everlasting Word of God has been preached to me. And I have gladly and humbly accepted!

Do All Good Things Really Come to an End?

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I recently attended a picnic that included a fun “bouncy house” with a slide for kids to enjoy. Squeals of delight accompanied the antics of the children as they jumped and played. The picnic also included cookie decorating for kids and the time-tested water balloon battle.

As I was leaving the picnic and walking to my car in the evening, I heard a young voice about one hundred feet behind me begin to complain and then cry. This little girl wanted her mom to know that she was not at all ready to leave the bouncy house and all her friends. As the girl entered into a tantrum; I heard her mother say, “All good things must eventually come to an end.” At those words, I stopped in my tracks. I literally paused in the parking lot and thanked God that the mother’s statement was not true. Though countless people throughout the years have uttered the same sentence as this caring mother, it is simply false.

Oh, to be sure, we have all felt the pangs of good things seeming to come to an end: the last day of a great vacation arrives, darkness settles in after a glorious sunset, bad news follows a time of laughter with friends, sickness hits after a long stint of health, discontent invades after a great success, a beautiful flower fades, a loved one moves away, a friend dies, a season of life passes and only memories are left. Yes, in this life we experience loss and grief. The glimmers of goodness are invaded by a pervasive tendency toward disappointment, sadness, and loss. However, the good we experience is not a temporary blip on the computer screen of life, but rather a deep and meaningful reminder of original intentions that will be gloriously restored. Good is not flimsy and of a temporary nature; good is ultimately enduring and victorious.

Recall God’s original pronouncement of His work on the sixth day of creation, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31, NASB). Before our human nature turned against God and His plan for the cosmos, the world was very good. Of course! For, it came from a good God. This God is eternal; His goodness goes endlessly back before the start of the world. In the same way, His good will go endlessly forward at the re-creating of this world. When God finally makes His dwelling place with us (Revelation 21:3), we will experience the reality of Psalm 16:11 (NASB), “In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

Did you catch the all-important words? “Fullness of joy” and “pleasures forever.” This is not the stuff of fairytales. This is truth from the Word of God. As true as John 3:16 is Psalm 16:11. God will once-and-for-all vanquish evil and allow good to prevail unhindered. Imagine! No end to righteous enjoyment! No watching the clock to see when the end of a good thing comes. No incomplete moments. No “having to leave the bouncy house.” No separating of right relationships. No goodbye. No regret. No end to good.

I urge you, then, to consider the way to be a part of God’s plan. In the first century A.D., the Apostle Paul identified the heart of the problem when it comes to goodness and our own, individual hearts. He knew the pain of goodness interrupted – of the seemingly triumphant evil. He said in Romans 7:18-20 (NIV), “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

So we see that good has its limits and end in people, too. But this is not the final chapter of the story. Even in the case of our own, human heart, “All good things do not have to come to an end.” Paul found the answer to our dilemma. When he recognized the sin himself (and, by the way, sin is the absence of good), he cried out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24, NIV, 1984). Paul saw that sin brings the death of all hope and goodness. He recognized his desperate need to be delivered from sin and death. The answer reverberates through the annals of time, “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25, NIV, 1984). Unequivocally, Jesus is the One who rescues us from sin and the death of good. Because of Jesus Christ, I will one day experience “fullness of joy” in God’s presence and His divine “pleasures forever.” (Psalm 16:11)

Hold on, my friend! Allow the glimpses of good you experience now to remind you of the ultimate and enduring reality, “All good things do not come to an end.” In fact, all truly good things will go on forever when our God comes back to vanquish evil and make all things good again. No more tears of sadness then. No more tantrums or frustration. Thank you, Jesus!

Jesus, Why Did You Let Your Friend Die?

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“Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.” – John 11:14 (ESV)

Some of the most difficult words in the Bible to wrap our minds around are these words of Jesus Christ to His disciples, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe” (John 11:14, ESV). Yes, Jesus actually implies here that He was pleased that Lazarus died before Jesus went to him to heal him. In fact, the word Christ used for “I am glad” is the same word translated as “rejoice” in Philippians 4:4 (ESV), “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Jesus purposefully allowed Lazarus to die – to cross that dark chasm between this world and the next – and to face his earthly body’s demise. We ask, “Why did you do that, Lord, when the sisters of Lazarus both told You he was ill?” They sent word directly to You. They turned to You. They asked You to intervene. They even reminded You, Jesus, of how much You cared for Lazarus when they said, “Lord, he whom you love is ill” (John 11:3, ESV). And God, You confirmed Your love in John 11:5 (ESV), “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” So, why? Why the seemingly disturbing words of John 11:6 (ESV), “So, when [Jesus] heard that Lazarus was ill, [Jesus] stayed two days longer in the place where he was”? God, why did you hesitate? Knowing a man you loved was suffering and about to die, why did You not run to Him? Or why did You not heal him from a distance as You did the official’s son of John 4:46-54? Lazarus was clearly Your friend, but You allowed him to suffer and be put in the grave.

In God’s economy, something is obviously more valuable than immediate healing or relief. In His scheme of things, Jesus deemed His hesitation to heal more valuable than the expected answer to prayer. He saw a greater glory. He looked beyond what eyes can see and what minds tend to perceive. He calls us – in this situation – to look to a place much deeper than comfort or human expectation. God calls us to an economy of souls and eternal realities. Christ made clear two reasons for His refusal to heal Lazarus before his first experience with death: 1) the increased belief of His disciples, and – more broadly – 2) the glorification of God and the Son of God.

When all was said and done, we discover that many people came to believe in the Son of God as a result of Jesus finally raising Lazarus from death. In fact, some of the people who came to a place of belief were the very Jewish friends who had gone to the tomb to weep with Mary and console her (John 11:31, 45). In other words, the people who had been carefully brought by God to a place of grief and somber reflection were now face-to-face with the Giver and Re-Giver of Life! Would these mourners have been receptive to healing from sickness only (as Jesus had performed many times)? Or was it their confrontation with the finality of death and its icy grip that was necessary for eternal belief? When Jesus decided to delay His arrival at the home of Lazarus, was it really because He knew an encounter with death was the only way for some to behold the Author of Life? Was it really Christ’s love for the eternal souls of men that drove Him to allow His beloved friend, Lazarus, to pass through the veil of death?

You see, only if the Son of God is glorified – or seen for Who He really is – will men and women find eternal life. God’s glory is our salvation! While some mistakenly believe God to be selfish for demanding to be glorified, He is actually working in our best interest. We were designed for real life beyond the grave. We were made to be resurrected at the Return of Christ and to live forever on the re-created earth and in the new heavens. At the time of the sickness of Lazarus, perhaps Jesus had in mind to walk with these Jewish friends of Mary someday in a place vanquished of mourning, pain, illness, mistreatment, separation, misery, and death. Perhaps Jesus knew that His dear friend, Lazarus, could handle illness, disappointment, and earthly death because Lazarus valued eternal life the most. Perhaps Lazarus is in Heaven now rejoicing with all the men and women who entered their eternal home because of his first encounter with death and subsequent resurrection. Perhaps both Jesus and Lazarus reckoned temporary suffering linked to saved people as more profitable than temporary relief linked to lost people.

Here is something to think about: though Lazarus was raised from the grave on the fourth day after dying, he still had to die an earthly death again. For him – as for us – eternity is the real hope. So, when Jesus says to your request, “I will wait a little longer,” what will your response be? To be desperately disappointed? Or to realize He is working a plan aimed at His glory so that human beings can be given what we do not deserve – forever to thrive in unmitigated perfection?