Blink

Recently I have been thinking a lot about death.

My dear daughter Rebecca returned to our Lord on the 15th of this month; my Mom was telling me that my Dad was not feeling well and was entering the "winter" of his life; and a dear friend that I just got back in touch with after over 20 years of no contact told me that his doctor told him that he only had 3-5 years to live.

Death sucks.

Pain, suffering, death - it wasn't the way it was supposed to be. The Devil came in and messed it all up. So, even though we know how it will end - in the meantime, we just have to suffer through it all.

So, I was thinking about death and what is after.

You know last words are important especially when you know you are going to die. What would you do if you knew that the next 24 hours would be the beginning of the end? What words would you share with your family and with your friends?

We know what Jesus said. He told his disciples, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." No parables because Jesus knew he was out of time. It was time for last words so he spoke plainly and made a statement and a promise.

For me, these two simple sentences are some of the most profound in the Bible because it promises us that death is not the end. It was not the end for Jesus and it will not be the end for us. Jesus has already prepared my room - he has already prepared a room for you. We just need to go.

I have a few friends who are atheists. Not fence-straddlers, not "unsure" about God - but just don't believe in a God. For them, this world is it. I feel bad for them and pray for them a lot. I would not want to live in this world if I thought there was nothing more. That when my loved ones die, that would be the end and that I would never see them again. That when I close my eyes for the last time, all that I would face is oblivion.

And I just don't believe it. Matter and energy for example cannot be created or destroyed, you can convert them but you can't destroy them. So, when a person dies, what happens to their spirit, their soul, their energy that makes them unique? Where does it go if it cannot be destroyed? For me, it is heaven or hell, and I hope for everyone's sake it is heaven.

When I close my eyes, I do not think it will be oblivion. I think it will be a blink. I will close my eyes to this world but in the next blink, I will be in heaven with my God and with all those that I have loved and who have gone before me. With my grandparents, my family, my friends, and especially my Becca. I hope to hear the words that we all yearn to hear from our Heavenly Father. As He hands me Becca to hold, I want to hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."