{"id":51,"date":"2014-04-06T02:02:43","date_gmt":"2014-04-06T02:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/?p=51"},"modified":"2014-06-05T20:55:57","modified_gmt":"2014-06-05T20:55:57","slug":"what-happens-when-we-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/what-happens-when-we-die\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens when we die?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"sad-man\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A funeral is never easy, but this one was going to be particularly difficult. I was holding with my hand a ceramic urn containing what was left of my dear mom, her ashes.<\/p>\n

My mom was a very good mother. In her younger days, I remember her to be very lively, full of humor and zest in life. In 2007, I went home to the Philippines and took my mom with me to live with my family. Those were a great five years in my life with my mom in our household. I learned so much from her and several stories of her life even before I was born. Then stroke happened. Her life fell apart. She struggled to walk. Her power to recall memories weakened. Seeing her face looking confused and lost was a very painful experience for me.
\n
\nWhat does God say about life after death? Is there one?
\nDeath is one we rightly fear to even approach, let alone cross. It is, as Paul wrote, an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), and we hold it at bay as long as possible. But eventually it conquers us all. Then what? Most people have some kind of belief that death is not the end. So what could I say at this funeral that was not just an empty platitude, but was true?<\/p>\n

The answer is not what you might expect. God has not told us precisely what happens immediately after we die. He has told us that, in and because of Jesus, we have victory over death. Jesus assured us that he is anxious for us to join him to experience life in a way that we mortals cannot begin to imagine, and his promise is that this new life will last forever. But beyond that, the Bible is frustratingly vague about the details. Especially the details of what happens immediately after we die. Note the emphasis on \u201cimmediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some scriptures suggest that the dead are safely \u201casleep,\u201d and so, we can surmise, they will know nothing until the moment of resurrection when Jesus returns (1 Corinthians 15:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:14). But others imply that they are in some way conscious and experience emotions. <\/p>\n

The apostle Paul showed no fear of death. He had, at some time in his eventful life, been given a \u201cvisitor\u2019s pass\u201d view of heaven, transforming his worldview. Life \u201chere below\u201d had become difficult, and he was eager to begin the next stage. So he wrote to the Philippians, \u201cAs long as I\u2019m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I\u2019d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better\u201d (Philippians 1:22-23, The Message). <\/p>\n

But what did he mean by \u201cbe with Christ?\u201d Unfortunately, he does not elaborate.<\/p>\n

John, the author of Revelation, also talks about \u201cseeing\u201d heaven. \u201cI saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, \u2018How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?\u2019 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed, as they had been, was completed\u201d (Revelation 6:9-11).<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 own words own words about the issue are also intriguing. Just before he died, he asked the Father to receive his spirit (Luke 23:46). Shortly before that, he made a promise to the repentant thief suffering crucifixion beside him. This man believed that, after death, good people go to \u201cparadise.\u201d Although he had not been a good man, he realized that Jesus had, so he begged him to remember him in whatever came next.<\/p>\n

Jesus reassured him: \u201cToday you will be with me in paradise\u201d (Luke 23:43).<\/p>\n

So you see, the Bible does not really give us a specific, clear-cut answer to the question of what happens to us immediately after we die. It does however make it clear that death is a cutoff point. One phase of your existence is finished; another is about to begin. It is as if God is saying, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it. Leave it to me. I have things under control.\u201d <\/p>\n

What the Bible does emphasize is what theologian N.T. Wright has called \u201cthe life after life after death,\u201d in a new heavens and a new earth. All our clues for this life come from Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, the Father received his spirit, but three days later, Jesus was resurrected and then later ascended. <\/p>\n

Think about this. Jesus was resurrected with a body. A real, recognizable body, with genuine body parts\u2014not a wispy, ethereal manifestation that could be made to look like a body when he wanted to make himself visible. This spiritual body was a new life form\u2014a permanent, everlasting version of what he had been before\u2014a human being made immortal. This is a body that is no longer bound by the limitations of time and space, Jesus could move back and forth from within the dimensions we experience to those that are beyond our reach, although not necessarily beyond our imagination. <\/p>\n

The Scriptures also tell us that what happened to Jesus will also happen to us.<\/strong> \u201cNow we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is\u201d (1 John 3:2). But it\u2019s not just a matter of \u201cseeing\u201d him\u2014as glorious as that may be. Revelation 21 speaks of us living with God\u2014of having fellowship him; that is the purpose for which we have been made and the purpose for which we have been given salvation. We will live with the Triune God in never-ending love, joy, and peace. We are given exceedingly great and precious promises, Paul says, and God will do more for us that we can even think to ask or imagine.<\/p>\n

This, then, is the Bible\u2019s focus when it speaks of life after death: Jesus himself is the new and living way<\/strong> (Hebrews 10:20). This is good news!<\/p>\n

Our new life will certainly be a rest from anxiety, feelings of guilt and the limitations of our frail bodies.<\/strong> But, more, it will be filled with activity and experiences\u2014all you could possibly want in this life\u2014and much, much, more. Eternity will not be spent in a sort of nebulous nether world, utterly alien to everything we have experienced and everything we enjoy. \u201cNo eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,\u201d wrote Paul to the Corinthians. He added, \u201cbut God has revealed it to us by his Spirit\u201d (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV 1984). <\/p>\n

We can only imagine the details. We can get foretastes of it when we experience the wonderful things about being alive now. Human love, hard-won accomplishment, deep friendships and acts of genuine unselfishness\u2014those moments when we think, \u201cI wish life were always like this\u201d give us \u201cflash forwards\u201d to another kind of existence. It is the way we were meant to live, the way the world could be\u2014and will be one day. They encourage us to join Jesus Christ in hoping and waiting for it with, as Paul said, \u201cjoyful anticipation.\u201d <\/p>\n

So, could it be that the joyful anticipation continues in some way immediately after our physical death? Although we should not be dogmatic, there is enough in the Scriptures to show this is a strong possibility. We have a God who cares deeply for you and I. In Jesus, we should not fear death.<\/p>\n

This is what was going through my mind as I pondered what to say at my mom\u2019s funeral. We were saying goodbye to a loved one, but I believe God was saying, \u201cHello. Welcome\u2014not to your eternal rest\u2014but to the rest of eternity.\u201d <\/p>\n

Her days of pain and despair are over. Whatever her current state, her future is secure in the arms of a loving God. This is what those who loved her needed to know. God cares.<\/p>\n

I walked out into the chapel, faced the audience and said, \u201cIn this little urn is all that is left of my mom that God does not want.\u201d\"church\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

And so there I was standing in front of people in Pampanga, Philippines and looking at the urn. Then I told them the rest of the truth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A funeral is never easy, but this one was going to be particularly difficult. I was holding with my hand a ceramic urn containing what was left of my dear mom, her ashes. My mom was a very good mother. In her younger days, I remember her to be very lively, full of humor and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[20,22,21],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}