25 Aug 2020

The latest blog after a few weeks break. A dark question that has been pushed to the front of our minds. Is death the end?

 Is there life beyond the grave? 

We are finishing the four questions that I began at the start of June. I wanted to suggest four questions that probe at our view of the world. We've looked at the question of our origin here. The question of our morality here and the question of our significance here.

We now ask the really dark question. Is death final? Is it the full stop of our lives? This is the question we can't escape. Though we might try to distract ourselves from the reality of death, it always forces itself into our lives. 

The belief of our secular age is that there is no life after death. We are simply physical beings. Life is just what you can see. Death is final. Yet this belief cannot suppress a deeper innate belief that we are eternal. We continue on beyond our death. There is life after death. We may disagree about what that life looks like but it seems we have a belief that won't go away. Life doesn't end with death. 

On paper it might seem everyone lives like this is all the life there is (You're born, you live, you die, the end) but our belief that death is not the end surfaces at the Graveside and in our Stories.

 

The Graveside

At the rawest moments of our lives we find it near impossible to maintain the confidence that this world is all there is. We may have lived under that assumption all our lives but it cracks under the weight of grief. At funerals we hear people saying things like, "They're in a better place" "They're up there looking down on us" or "We'll see them again". And this is not simply a remnant of a Christian past, it's found in all cultures across all time. The teacher in Ecclesiastes says God has hidden eternity in the heart of man (3:11) and experience seems to bear that out. 

 

Our Stories

It seems our story telling is very telling. It reveals what we really believe. Think of the movies and books that tell of a life beyond the grave. Of course you find it in the Horror stories where the veil between this world and the next is very thin, but you also have it within Romance (eg.Ghost, The Lovely Bones) and Thrillers (eg. The Sixth Sense). It seems our story telling betrays our hearts. We have a hope that there's something more. It doesn't seem right in our minds that death should be the end. It doesn't seem enough for us that this is all there is. We long for something more. Now, just because we long for something doesn't mean there is something more. But what if death isn't the end? It's a question worth asking isn't it?

 

Therefore our 4th question is: What happens after death? 

 

If you say "nothing happens after death". I want you to listen into the hopes that you have. The hopes that are revealed at the grave side and in the stories you enjoy. Are your hopes consistent with your stated beliefs? 

God hasn't just set eternity in our hearts, he has prepared a glorious eternity for us in Jesus. When we trust in Jesus, we no longer have to face the judgement that we dread but instead receive the Life that we long for. 

"Jesus Christ who has destroyed death and brought life and immorality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10)

In this blog I've dealt with death as a challenge to our worldview but I know it's much more than that. It causes huge pain and suffering for those left behind. If that is you and you'd like someone to talk to, please get in touch. I can be contacted on 2nd Dromara Presbyterian Church Facebook page or my mobile 07512677530. Thank you, Andrew