We’re comforted by the thought that when a loved one dies…and of course when WE die…that we’ll
immediately go to Heaven. We remember that when one of the thieves who died on a cross beside Jesus, asked Christ to “remember
me,” Jesus answered that “Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”
Then some Bible readers might wonder about Christ’s Second Coming…the time when He will come back for us. The
Apostle Paul said, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever by with the Lord.” (First Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Some might wonder that if we’ve already gone to heaven, how will it be that we will rise from the grave and go with
Him?
The thing is that at death, our soul…our spirit…our being goes to be with God, and the Bible comforts us with
the words, as John says, that “For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part; but
then shall I know even as also I am known” (First Corinthians 13 11-12). When we die and go to Heaven, we’ll know
our loved ones even as we know them now. But when Christ comes back for all Christians, it will be NEW bodies that come out
of the graves to meet Him and rise with Him to Heaven. And by “new” bodies, we mean that they won’t have
sorrows or pains and will not die again.
If you have questions, even after studying the Bible, don’t let them interfere with your belief that Jesus is the
Christ. That’s why the Bible tells us, time and again, that it’s by FAITH that we become Christians. It was difficult,
even for the twelve apostles who lived and walked with him here on earth…and so why shouldn’t it be difficult
for US, who have not yet seen Him face to face, to wonder at how all these things will come about. It’s by faith that
we simply believe that they will happen. Meanwhile, the Bible is our guide to that faith. And that’s why we should read
it.
Unbelievers like the excuse that “I don’t read it because I don’t understand it.” Well, if you’ll
read, you’ll understand enough of it to know that our living for Him here means a reward in Heaven that can’t
be put into words. The Apostle John, even after seeing it in a vision, couldn’t describe it.
Leave it at this: Believe that Jesus is the Christ and that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then tell Christ that
you’re ready to do it HIS way. Repent of past sins, no matter how small or large, and turn over that new leaf. Today
is the day.
37BT Bill Thornton July 10, 2005
