Do You Believe in Life Before Death?
June 27th, 2010In church circles we talk a great deal about “life after death.” We give the “invitation” (or “altar call”) at the end of a sermon in case someone wants to become a follower of Jesus for what? Typically we say, “And go to heaven when you die.”
The eternal afterlife is a gift from God to all who will follow his Son. It seems in reading the scriptures that this is a given fact. It does not seem to be a dominant incentive to entice people into following Jesus. In fact, as you read through the gospels and the book of Acts, count how many times the speakers use the reward of heaven as a motivation to obey God.
As a Minister, the thought of not being able to use the carrot of eternal life to get people to obey God seems disarming. Yet, as we search the scriptures, we see many people obeying God. Why would they if heaven is treated as a matter of fact and not motivation?
Perhaps we can see that there is a different focus given by the Messiah, Jesus and his disciples. They did preach eternal life, but that life is not just some far off event. The gospel to them was more than fire insurance against hell. The message they preached involved life NOW.
Eternal life begins when we walk with God. Jesus said He is the key to abundant life (John 10:10). Note John’s use of “eternal life” as present, not merely future in 1 John 5:11-13.
11And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
What would be the enticement to follow Jesus if we do not emphasize the afterlife? Perhaps we can take a lesson from the Messiah and see that the abundant, eternal life not only begins in our walk with him, it impacts every aspect of our lives. We become transformed people. We see life through a new set of eyes. We do not despair over every little thing. We have a hope that the world does not have and a life worth living NOW as well as in the resurrection (see John 11:24-27).
Maybe instead of asking, “Do you believe in life after death?” we should be asking, “Do you believe in life BEFORE death?”
Keep The Light Burning!
Perry Greene
