#173 Life after death (12Feb08)

….eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord'
Isaiah 66:17

Other than the interesting symbolic reference to pigs and rodents, which by coincidence happened to cross paths with the passing of the Year of the Pig, and the onset of the Year of the Rat, an irrelevant verse this might seem but truly, the Word of God does not go forth without making an impact on a receptive and contrite heart.

'Incline your ear, and come unto Me; hear, and your soul shall live…..'
Isaiah 55:3

The verse is not irrelevant, but when one passes on to the land beyond yonder, will one go into irrelevance, as far as the living is concerned?
Dead man speaks no evil. And contrary to popular beliefs, the departed do not come back to speak to the living, for if it was so, than the conversion of the non-believing would be a lot easier, for tales of Hades would be more real than surreal. We the living will have to make do with fallen angels impersonating the departed souls.

'And I will say to my soul; Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry'
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy sould shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou has provided?'
Luke 12:18-21

Death is usually a morbid topic that few care to talk about, nor ponder upon. Sordid tales are what stirs the lustful blood, but torrid days can end at the bat of an eyelid and the flutter of our heart could just stutter and leave the till recently alive and kicking, without even a mutter.
Good cheer and hopes of prosperity and wealth should be our usual greetings this Chinese New Year, but delusions are from the devil, but an honest fact must be shared by concerned friends, so forgive me for the Lord so prompts.

'Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not'
Luke 12:40

'Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast Thou made all men in vain?'
Psalms 89:47

Habitual as it might seem, and I am sure not many will want to be in the unenviable position of sending off one too many friends to the land beyond our familiar Earth, in my past few years of doing that, God has been an ever presence, a source of comfort, peace and even joy, in the midst of the pain and difficulties that the now deceased and his or her family will have to trudge through, hope against hope that miracles as defined and desired by us the imperfect human will occur.

'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might…….
….But let him that gloreith glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercises loving kindess, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth……….'
Jeremiah 9:23-24

Mark Twain once saith that the twain shall not meet. Indeed for many, after years of disbelief, they become believers only in the tail-end of their lives but it is still a joy to know that they will be in eternity with the Lord our God and not in eternal damnation with Lucifer.
Mark Twain also said that the beautiful Island of Mauritius was heaven on earth and indeed it was a paradise on Earth for the now extinct Dodo bird, that unfortunately turned into hell on earth with the setting on land, the first humans from the ships that happened to chance upon the Island.
Sartre in his book, "No exit", was right when his character Garcin said "Hell is - other people"

'Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods'
But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?'
Galatians 4:8-9

Contrary to general experience, Heaven is already on Earth with us for Heaven is the fullness of God's presence. For many of us who are blessed to know God a little earlier in our finite life cycle, life on earth is never the same again, when God took us out of the darkness. His light shines upon us, and though darkness still envelopes our sinful world, the elements are no longer a constraint to our bondage free days, if we let God and let Him lead us.

'For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him…'
2 Chronicles 16:9

If you profess to be a believer, but yet still blatantly hanker after the offerings of the world, be it pride, power, status and if you find yourself more at home with the norms of Satan's traits be it anger, deceit, impatience, a hardened heart, than truly it is time to awaken to the call from God in Galatians 4:8-9.
God knows our needs. He also knows our heart. Is your heart aligned with His will. Is your heart desirous of doing His will in faith, trust and obedience?

'And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,neither sorrow,nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away'
Revelation 21:4

This is the promise that many a faithful hold on to, in their times of difficulties, in the knowledge of what lies ahead when Jesus Christ returns.
But it is also of great relevance even now. For in this sorrowful world, as a believer, when we truly believed, our old body has died to be replaced by the new body. The Spirit of God resides in us, the believers. The presence of God is already with us. Heaven is right here on Earth with us.

Let me end with this little prayer(without any editing on my part) that a young boy of age 10 once asked some of us to pray for his grandfather

"Please pray for me for my grandfather as he only has 30% to live but now they are giving medicen he may be better so I hope that God will give him 15 more years to live"

Faith does speak wonders of God's grace, even if the desire is based on our own imperfect understanding rather than the will of God. Length of life in this sinful world is what many wished for but blissful eternity in Heaven is what God has given to all if only we be willing to believe and accept His grace.

'But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,(by grace ye are saved)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus..'
Ephesians 2:4-6

Strange as it might seem, spiritual death is a joy because it releases us from the bondage of sin and its barnacles in exchange for joyous eternity with our Lord.

'Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new'
2 Corinthians 5:17

What about physical death? If God remains a stranger to you, then indeed physical death might seem like a release from the travails of the sinful world, but what comes after might not be any better.
Some might not want to be a rat or pig in their next life but reality is, the present life might be one of joyless discontentment and the life after could be one of eternal damnation in the inextinguisable flames of Hell.

'For all our days are passed away in Thy wrath……………………
The days of our years are threescore years and ten, and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away'
Psalms 90:9-10

And finally, on something of more immediate concern for many, for death of the body and soul seems more distant compared to present material well-being.
The million dollar question is "would the life support system of the increasingly zombie like financial system be switched off voluntarily or the mass of monies(only to be matched by the delusory hope of the crestfallen) being pumped by the central banks be able to act as an effective band-aid on the excesses of human greed that has to now come to haunt the world?

Do take time to reflect upon the following

'For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain'
Philippians 1:21


God Blesses

Eng Hieang