Today would have been my Dad’s 65th birthday. For those of you who don’t know, my Dad passed away on March 14th after a 7 years long battle with Lewy Body Dementia. I use the words “passed away” because they are colloquial, but for my family and I, Dad didn’t pass away, he was liberated from a disease riddled body and mind that no longer functioned and his spirit now resides in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is no longer experiencing muscle cramps, legs that won’t work, eyes that can’t see, or any cognitive confusion. His mind is sharp and his existence in the spirit is one of complete peace, joy, and bliss.
Some may ask, “how can you know that?” The answer is found in one place--the Word of God. The Apostle John spends the majority of his first epistle helping his readers understand who they are in Christ. Toward the end of his letter he pens, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13, emphasis mine). What things did he write? Words like:
“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all...if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5b, 7).
“He [Christ] is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).
“By this we know that we abide in Him and He is in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God, so that we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him” (1 John 4:13, 15-16).
“Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:10-12).
You see, we can know where our loved ones are after they physically die because of the truth we find in Scripture. The truth of the gospel of Christ which is the message of salvation that guarantees all who believe upon the person and work of Christ and confess Him as Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9-10). We cannot know anything with any certainty regarding eternity apart from Christ. Understand that this knowledge is not based on empirical evidence since none of us have died and come back. Instead what we know is based on what we believe and since Christians believe that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, eternal Word of God, we can and must believe what it says. Therefore, just as John writes, that which Scripture reveals to those of us who believe in the name of the Son of God, we may know that we have eternal life.
I had the unique privilege as a young child to see my Dad confess Christ as Savior and Lord and be baptized. My Dad’s confession of Christ is the testimony that John is referring to in the verses mentioned above. So, based on the truth of Scripture and the witness of my Dad’s life, I can conclude confidently that He resides with Christ today. I can know through the hope I have in the Lord Jesus that my Dad is not only in the memories of my past, but he is in my future because on the day my physical body dies, I will see him again.
This truth applies to every single believer and follower of Jesus Christ. Every Christian who has lost a loved one who confessed Christ as Savior and Lord has this same hope. The testimony and the knowledge of the truth that the Apostle Paul refers to in his letter to young Timothy that “there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.”
I hope that you find the same comfort in these words of Scripture as I have. The comfort and peace that surpasses all understanding, especially in the midst of a dark valley. Yet, please know that this comfort and peace are only found in a relationship with Jesus Christ because He is the only Way unto salvation. He is the only Way to the forgiveness of sin and clemency from its penalty (Romans 6:23). He is the only Way to heaven (John 14:6).
Now having read all of this, here is the question I would encourage you to answer, “Do you know, that you know, that you know, that if you died today, you would go to heaven?” If you’re answer is a resounding “YES,” then I shout “Hallelujah” along with you. If you were hesitant in your answer or you’re answer is “No,” then I would encourage you to reach out to me by email below or on LFPTMedia's FB. I would cherish the opportunity to show you in Scripture the truth of the message of eternal life.
May the Lord bless each of you mightily in the days and weeks ahead.
Brent
Comments