The question, “What happens after death?”, is frequently searched on the internet as curiosity persists.
Answers that are provided come from a wide range of categories: medical, scientific, existential, religious, philosophical, and more. The sheer variety of possibilities could make you wonder if there is a definite answer.
God’s word on the other hand is clear, definite, and hopeful.
In the Book of Job for instance, the question is posed directly and immediately answered with hope: “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. (Job 14:14) Job concludes that he could endure the grave and also his hardship on earth if he knew that God would resurrect him.
Job is a book of lament and a book of hope. It is in fact hope in God that keeps the lament flowing and reaching forward.
In the New Testament we come to the fulfillment of this great expectation.
In the resurrection of Jesus, we are given the promise of our own resurrection. As Paul writes in Romans 8:11, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”
The resurrection of Christ, anticipated in the Old Testament, is at the heart of the Gospel because of its significance for every person.
At the resurrection, the deity of Christ was declared with power. He is God’s one and only Son who came from the Father and whose sacrificial death was accepted as payment for sin. The atonement complete, the Son rose in victory over death and the powers of darkness.
Christ’s resurrection assures us of his acceptance of us who trust in his sacrifice for our redemption. The Lord’s resurrection gives us living hope and the guarantee of our eventual resurrection. This is what we celebrate at Easter and why it is important that we do.
The promise of the resurrection to glorious eternal life is great news right in the Good News. It is hopeful in the extreme.
Though we live today with the miseries of frail perishable bodies, in a world where violence and injustice abound, one day we will be resurrected and live in a way we can’t fully imagine today. Like Job we wait for our renewal to come.
Paul writes that in death, the body that is sown is perishable but that it will be raised imperishable; sown in weakness we will be raised in power and be clothed with immortality.
From that day forward there will be no more tears and no more death. There will be no more mourning or crying or suffering. The hard service will be over. The old order will be no more.
If a person dies, will they live again? YES! Because of Christ the great hope and promise of the resurrection belongs to all those who belong to him.
Paul writes much about the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. First, he writes of the resurrection of Christ, then of the resurrection of the dead, and thirdly of the resurrection of the body, sown perishable but raised imperishable. Science can’t explain this, but by faith we can receive the promise with hope, joy, and so much gratitude.
So, what do we do until that glorious day?
Let’s take to heart Paul’s exhortation as he concludes his discourse on the resurrection: “Therefore…stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
Let’s continue to serve Jesus faithfully, trust him daily, and hope in him with all our hearts.
