Deuteronomy 16-18

Mark 13:1-20

“The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” —John 11:25-26

Many people face the prospect of impending death due to a terminal illness. Many more know their best years are behind them and are drawing nearer to death each day. The reality is we are all given a death sentence from the moment we are born. The statistics are easily established: one in one dies.

Hebrews 2:15 speaks of “…those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Many people have a profound fear of dying; others to a lesser degree, but the truth is we only know how to face life when we know how to face death. There are three possibilities of what happens after death. Richard Dawkins, a leader of the New Atheist movement, was asked, “How do you understand death?” He replied, “Think of death as a general anaesthetic to spare you from eternity.” In other words, nothing happens, which is one possibility.

Another option is that we are reborn into the physical world. This is reincarnation, and a number of religions abide by it, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. This belief gives one motivation to try hard in this life, because if we behave well, we will come back as something better in our next life. If we behave poorly, however, we could come back as something menial and lowly.

The third option is we move into a spiritual world. There are various versions of this, but only one comes with a guarantee. That guarantee has to do with the very relevant and important question: Has anyone ever been there and come back? The answer is Jesus Christ has! Because Christ has been risen from the dead, we have hope for the next life. This is not a theory, a concept or a very nice idea. Every religion has its nice ideas, but this is rooted in an event in history where a man was literally raised from the dead.

In 1 Corinthians 15:20-27, Paul outlines the path we take as Christians from this life to the next life with Jesus Christ being the prototype. Jesus alone defeated death by His resurrection and paved the way for all who believe in Him. From the moment we are born again of the Holy Spirit, we receive a new life that is everlasting. When nearing the end of our lives on earth, there can be little else more disheartening than to believe we have wasted it, that all our time has been spent climbing up a ladder against the wrong wall. But as Christians, we can be confident that beyond physical death our futures are secure in Jesus Christ, so that we may live this life freely and fearlessly for His glory.

Dear God, in Christ alone am I confident that there is life beyond physical death. I look forward to the day when I am joined with You in heaven. Thank You, Lord.