Dear Friends,
Today we are going to rise above life and death! Strange as it may sound but this is absolutely necessary! Let's see how...
The best point to start from is the First Book of John,
Chapter 3 from Bible, where it is written that Jesus appeared into this world
in order to destroy the works of the devil. Here’s the question: What works of
the devil Jesus came to destroy? According to Bible, the works of the devil
include, sin, curse, diseases, sorrows and death.
Jesus underlined this point when a gentleman came to
Him and requested Him to ask his brother to divide their property equally among
them. Jesus told him that He did not come into the world to stand as an arbitrator
between different parties to settle disputes over such issues. Jesus, then, went
on to say one parable to make this gentleman understand the futility of earthly
possessions. Here is the parable:
Another thing, Jesus is talking about the two states of
life meant for two sets of people after they die. There are two sets of people
in this world: one is good; another is bad. When both sets of people die, both
sets of people enter into a spiritual life that is endless or lasting for
eternity.
Today we are going to rise above life and death! Strange as it may sound but this is absolutely necessary! Let's see how...
The most important thing for a person in this world is
that he remains alive. All that we say, all that we do, and all that we gain
are meant for the sake of life. It is life that lends meaning and value to all
things. Without life, everything is meaningless.
That is the reason why people have been thinking,
talking and writing about death. Not until the time Jesus died that humanity
really got the first real breakthrough in solving the problem called death. In
this brief chapter we are going to discuss how this breakthrough has changed
the destiny of entire mankind. It affects both you and me.
The best point to start from is the First Book of John,
Chapter 3 from Bible, where it is written that Jesus appeared into this world
in order to destroy the works of the devil. Here’s the question: What works of
the devil Jesus came to destroy? According to Bible, the works of the devil
include, sin, curse, diseases, sorrows and death.
In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 26 from Bible, it
is written, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” For us mortals, the
destruction of death is a gateway to life – eternal life. This future event is
foretold to us as a promise from God. God has founded this promise on a firm
ground. What provides firm ground for God’s promise is the resurrection of
Jesus.
Jesus during His brief stay in this world brought to
life many people who had died. This He did in order to show to the world that
He held power over life and death. It was one of the proofs of His being God.
Therefore, when Jesus Himself was hung on the cross,
His enemies taunted Him by saying that He saved others but He could not save
Himself. Jesus wanted to show them that He could save Himself from something
that was worse than the suffering of the cross, and that something was death.
In order to prove this, He had to die first. So He did.
As He had told His disciples, on the third day He conquered death and came to
life again. Not only He came alive on the third day, He spent as many as 40
days with His disciples. And after 40 days, He ascended to Heaven right in
front of sizable number of His disciples.
The purpose of His resurrection is to prove to us that
if He is capable of conquering death and come to life again, He also has the
power to bring us to life again. Not only that; He also showed that what He
promised to His followers was also true. What He promised to His followers was
exactly this:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in
God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so,
would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if
I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me
that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)
Dear friends, Jesus has returned to Heaven to prepare a
place for us. And when He is done with it, He will surely return to the earth.
Just as the world saw Him going to Heaven, it will also see Him coming down to
earth with the glory of God. There is time appointed for His return. All the
Christians are now waiting for this Mega-Event. It will be such an event that
the human history has never seen anything like that before.
This, then, is the reason why Jesus constantly
instructed people to think about spiritual life, not about things which are
meant for our body alone. Things which are meant for body tend to perish by
use. Our money, food, cloths, etc perish by use. They do not increase by use.
Jesus underlined this point when a gentleman came to
Him and requested Him to ask his brother to divide their property equally among
them. Jesus told him that He did not come into the world to stand as an arbitrator
between different parties to settle disputes over such issues. Jesus, then, went
on to say one parable to make this gentleman understand the futility of earthly
possessions. Here is the parable:
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room
to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and
build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say
to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease;
eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul
will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have
provided?’
“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not
rich toward God.”
Please note that Jesus is not against having treasure
on earth; He is against the condition in which a person is not rich toward God.
It is absolutely necessary that we are rich toward God.
The parable quoted instructs us about what happens if
we are not rich toward God. But the matter does not stand there. It goes beyond
death. Jesus informs us about the same with another parable which is quoted
below:
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple
and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with
the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and
licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels
to Abraham’s bosom (to Heaven).
The rich man also died and was buried. And being in
torments in Hades (Hell), he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom.
“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on
me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my
tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember
that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil
things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this,
between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass
from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’” (Luke 16:19-26)
As you can see, Jesus in the parable quoted above is
talking about the life that is awaiting us once we finish the present life (our
flesh-and-blood existence) that we are living in this world. Yes, after this
life is over, we are going to enter into another life which is endless. It will
be a spiritual life.
Another thing, Jesus is talking about the two states of
life meant for two sets of people after they die. There are two sets of people
in this world: one is good; another is bad. When both sets of people die, both
sets of people enter into a spiritual life that is endless or lasting for
eternity.
However, what marks the difference between the
spiritual lives of these two sets of people is that the good people will spend
eternity in Heaven; whereas the bad people will spend eternity in Hell.
According to Bible, the eternity that will be enjoyed by good people in Heaven
is called eternal life; and the eternity that will be spent in indescribable
torment and pain in Hell is called the Second Death. The Second Death is the spiritual life that sinners are going to live
endlessly in Hell. This is extremely important to understand.
Many people commit suicide in order to escape the
troubles and sorrows of the present life in this world. If we cannot endure the
problems of this life, how can we ever endure infinitely great problems of the
life that is lived in Hell for eternity? It is beyond the power of man to
escape life in Hell. Once a person enters Hell, he must live there for
eternity. There is no other way out. It is utterly hopeless condition.
Therefore, Bible describes the soul of a person who
goes to Hell as a lost soul. Jesus, with His characteristic economy of
expression, warned people who were too occupied with concerns which were
limited to this earthly life and were totally unmindful of the eternal life that
was to come after death. This is what He said: “For what profit is it to a man
if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
There is no want of people who set all their stores on what
they achieve or gather in this world. Money, properties, big mansions, cars,
beautiful life partner, smart kids….The list of what people desire under the
sun goes on and on. There is no end to desire. All these things can be enjoyed
as long as we are alive. But a day comes in everyone’s life when he will die.
All are mortal; nobody is immortal.
Therefore, all the pleasures of this life are going to
end with the end of this physical life. There is wisdom in thinking and caring
for things which are meant for the life that lies beyond death. Jesus has
taught us how we can ensure happiness in the life after death. He did this by
the acts which are directed by the Spirit, not by the body. Acts of the Spirit
are aimed at achieving spiritual growth, and denying our body the pleasures
which are sinful. Acts of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, forbearance,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Unlike our
earthly possessions, these acts of the Spirit will accompany us beyond our
grave and provide us access to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is
something that we can never lose once we have it.
It is exactly in this respect that Jesus once said to
people around Him that those who gather with Him gather; but those who do not
gather with Him scatter.
This brings us to the question what it means to
scatter. The person who does not gather with Jesus is exactly the person who
tries to gather with the world. According to Bible, gathering with the world
means committing the acts of the flesh or body in order to satisfy our body.
The acts of the flesh include sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,
fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness,
orgies, and the like.
It is necessary, here, to know what is meant by the
word ‘idolatry’. Idolatry is the worship of idols. Bible considers it as a sin
because it sees idolatry as worship of something that replaces God. To put it
plainly, if money is more important for us than God, then money becomes an idol.
If a person is an egoist and does not like to give more importance to God than to
his own self, then his ‘self’ becomes an idol that he worships.
Those who commit these sins will not inherit the
Kingdom of God, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven. This, then, is what they
scatter, or lose, who do not gather with Jesus. And not having the Kingdom of
Heaven simply means having Hell. If a person will not have one, then he will
surely have the other. Therefore, he will render himself great service if he
makes a choice between 1. the spiritual and the physical 2. Heaven and Hell.
THERE IS A CHOICE THAT CAN PUT YOU ON THE SIDE OF
GOD…ON THE SIDE OF LIFE AND LIGHT FOR ETERNITY.
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