Life After Death: At Home With the Lord
During the pandemic, death has often been in the news. Daily death totals have flashed across television screens. Images of caskets and mass graves have appeared in newspapers. In general, humans do not like to talk about death. As a society, we have “sanitized” the process of dying by keeping it largely out of view. But the pandemic has brought the topic of death into sharper focus. This raises some important questions: What happens to believers when they die? Will we see our departed fellow believers again one day?
The Apostle Paul’s writings provide comfort and hope for those who are grieving the passing of loved ones. In 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul writes, “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” This verse contains two clear truths. The first truth is that the believer who dies is absent from the body. When the Lord determines that our time on earth is done, He calls us home. At that point, the believer’s spirit– the inner person – is separated from his or her body. But while the believer lives on spiritually, his or her body dies. That is the painful reality for loved ones looking on. At the point of death, the believer’s body is buried. But the story of the believer’s physical body is not over because the grave is actually a waiting room. The believer is buried, awaiting the promised resurrection. As Jesus was resurrected, so too will all believers be resurrected. Our bodies will not simply be resuscitated, but somehow remade as spiritual bodies in the resurrection – even as took place with our Lord on the third day. Paul develops this glorious theme of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. He writes, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God…we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable…”
The second truth is that the believer who dies is present with the Lord. Paul writes that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain…My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Philippians 1:21). To depart the body is to be with Christ. And it is to be with Him immediately – not in some indefinite future time. Paul emphasizes that here, and Jesus Himself makes the point very clearly as well. As Christ hung on the cross, He said to the criminal crucified next to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43). Now, this state – after physical death, but before the resurrection to come – this time in the Lord’s presence is a kind of in-between time. This isn’t the final state of the believer. More of God’s plan has yet to unfold and more of his salvation work is yet to be revealed. Theologians sometimes call this the “intermediate state”. Note that we are not talking about an intermediate place – as though believers go somewhere other than heaven in the first instance. No, believers go straight to heaven (ahead of the resurrection of the body). And heaven is indeed a place. Recall that Jesus Himself said, “…I go and prepare a place for you…” (John 14:4).
So what is heaven like for the departed believer? Heaven means rest for the soul. In Revelation 14:13, John says: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labor, for their deeds follow them!’ Heaven also entails eternal joy. Psalm 16:11 declares, “…in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore…” It is fitting that Paul says of the departed believer that he or she is “at home with the Lord”. The refuge that Jesus’ bosom will provide, the warmth and joy we shall experience in His presence, is nothing less than home! Jesus Himself invoked the warm and inviting concept of a “home” when He said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms…” (John 14:2).
Losing a loved one is a terrible thing. But as believers, we can have immense comfort in knowing that those who have trusted in Jesus – those who belong to Jesus – go to heaven to be with Him. We need not “grieve as others do who have no hope.” (1 Thess. 4:13). The resurrection will come. The new creation will dawn. The grave is not the end. We will see our loved ones who have gone to be with their Saviour. Death is cruel – but our hope in Christ is far more wonderful than the grave is terrible. The future hope that shines brightly before us is great enough to dispel the shadows of the grave and to lighten the darkness of grief. As Paul writes, “Death is swallowed up in victory. ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’” (1 Cor. 15:55).
Of course, this wonderful future is reserved only for those who trust Jesus. Death brings an infinitely different prospect for those who have not come to Christ for salvation. At death, a person’s future is fixed—and there is no going back. For those who reject the Saviour, there is judgment to come—and there is an eternity of unspeakable loss. But the invitation to life is open today—and it is open to all. Would you respond to this offer? Would you receive a share in this glorious future? Would you do so even today, by trusting in the Lord Jesus, who died to pay for your sin and to offer you life eternal? The words of Will Thompson’s hymn, “Softly and Tenderly” say it best:
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling
Calling for you and for me
See on the portals He's waiting and watching
Watching for you and for me
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary come home
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling
Calling, "O sinner come home"
O for the wonderful love He has promised
Promised for you and for me
Though we have sinned He has mercy and pardon
Pardon for you and for me