If God Is "I AM", then Who Am I? - Day 23

Day 23 – eternal life


God’s going to call you home sometime… I’m going to a special place when I die.  –U.S. Open golf champion PAYNE STEWART 

 

If God created us for the purpose of communion with Him, then to be separated from Him by our sins is a monumental issue. Looking at it this way, it is life's only issue, all others being mere corollaries. Even if fellowship with God were limited to this earthly life, such a rift in divine-human rapport would be important enough. It would be even more so if our relationship with God continued after death.

This leads us straight to the question of the day—is there life beyond the grave? Everyone, even the most skeptical, has to admit that historical opinion favors an afterlife. Indeed, denying life after death places one solidly in the ranks of the smallest of minorities. But the majority is not always right, so we must today honestly and objectively address the question of eternity. Is there really existence beyond death, or is this just wishful thinking? Do we have any evidence that life continues beyond the grave, or must we accept or reject this on blind faith?

To no one's surprise, belief in an afterlife tends to mirror belief in God. The atheist, convinced that reality consists only of the natural world, smirks at any suggestion of eternal existence. The true agnostic grudgingly admits the possibility of an afterlife, if perchance the existence of God be true. The theist, or believer, embraces a supernatural realm and speaks of life after death as likely or certain. Despite this polarity, I think everyone would agree that, if it were to exist, life after death would be no small matter.

So why do I personally believe in an afterlife? Do I have any reasons beyond my subjective feelings; or is it just my intuition versus yours, a battle of presuppositions and opinions? Admittedly, there is much about my belief in an afterlife that is purely subjective. But there is more! I cannot offer definitive proof, but I do not come into this argument empty-handed. In fact, I will submit five pieces of evidence that clearly point in the direction of eternal life. Taken together, they make a formidable case in favor of life after death, one not easily rebutted by the skeptic and unbeliever.

SELF-REFLECT

 

1
Think of three benefits of life after death.
 
2
Think of five people you would like to meet after death.

3
Think of three things you would do today if you knew your life would end tomorrow.

4
Would it help your faith if evidence existed in favor of eternal life?

5
Place your name in the blank and read this promise of Jesus aloud three times: “I go to prepare a place for ________; that where I am, _________ may be also.”