Unanswered Questions

November 8, 2012


“All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.  Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?» (Ecclesiastes 3:20-22)

These verses are often attacked for teaching a sub-Christian view of the afterlife. The truth is, Solomon isn’t dealing with the afterlife at all. He’s simply pointing out that from an earthly perspective no one can say what happens when we die.

Sam is 12 years old and has been raised in a Christian home. One evening he crawled up on the bed and with tears asked a question that had been troubling his heart. “What if when we die, there’s no God? What if we just die and then we can’t think anymore?” Death is so final that you can’t help but wonder sometimes what if “nothing happens” when we die. How would you answer Sam’s plaintive question? Since we will all die someday—and since the cemeteries are adding and not subtracting people—on what basis do Christians have a hope that goes beyond the grave?

Over the last 20 years I have conducted funerals for all kinds of people. Most of them have been older people, but occasionally I do a funeral for a younger person, and sometimes I have the sad duty to officiate at the funeral for a child or an infant. The circumstances vary but this much is certain. At the moment of death the truth about individuals comes out. You can fake your religion most days, but you can’t fake it when you stare death cold in the face. In that moment Jesus makes all the difference in the world. In the saddest moments I have seen the light of God on the faces of those who have lost their loved ones. Through their tears they smile because they know Jesus, and he has made all the difference.

He is truly the answer to death for all of us. As D. L. Moody lay dying he exclaimed, “Earth is receding; heaven is approaching. This is my crowning day.” Many have felt that way as they came to the end of life. For those who know Jesus, death is the passageway that leads to eternal life.

Lord Jesus, thank you for a hope that death cannot destroy. You died and rose again so that I might live forever with you. Amen.

Sam is 12 years old and has been raised in a Christian home. One evening he crawled up on the bed and with tears asked a question that had been troubling his heart. “What if when we die, there’s no God? What if we just die and then we can’t think anymore?” Death is so final that you can’t help but wonder sometimes what if “nothing happens” when we die. How would you answer Sam’s plaintive question? Since we will all die someday—and since the cemeteries are adding and not subtracting people—on what basis do Christians have a hope that goes beyond the grave?

Over the last 20 years I have conducted funerals for all kinds of people. Most of them have been older people, but occasionally I do a funeral for a younger person, and sometimes I have the sad duty to officiate at the funeral for a child or an infant. The circumstances vary but this much is certain. At the moment of death the truth about individuals comes out. You can fake your religion most days, but you can’t fake it when you stare death cold in the face. In that moment Jesus makes all the difference in the world. In the saddest moments I have seen the light of God on the faces of those who have lost their loved ones. Through their tears they smile because they know Jesus, and he has made all the difference.

He is truly the answer to death for all of us. As D. L. Moody lay dying he exclaimed, “Earth is receding; heaven is approaching. This is my crowning day.” Many have felt that way as they came to the end of life. For those who know Jesus, death is the passageway that leads to eternal life.

Lord Jesus, thank you for a hope that death cannot destroy. You died and rose again so that I might live forever with you. Amen.

This is 1 of 100 devotionals from an ebook called Something New Under the Sun.     

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Unanswered Questions

November 30, 2003


UNANSWERED QUESTIONS by Ray Pritchard “I don’t know if he was a believer.” It was a statement partly of hope and partly of resignation, made after a loved one had died recently. Where is he now? How should we think about such things? This is a difficult and tender topic for many people. It would be wonderful if every time a loved one died, we had personal assurance that they were believers. Unfortunately, that is often not the case. In my quarter-century of ministry, I’ve known of a few death-bed conversions, but not very many. It does happen, and the possibility should never be ruled out, but it certainly doesn’t happen all the time. In many cases, the loved one passes from this life leaving behind questions about where they stood with the Lord. Several things will help us at this point. First, only God can see the heart, and it is the heart that will be judged. No matter how well we may think we know a person, we can’t peer into the soul. God reserves that for himself. Second, God’s grace goes far beyond our limited understanding. Some people will be in heaven that we never expected to be there. Third, it doesn’t take much faith to save a person. Jesus spoke of a faith like a mustard seed, and he talked about having the faith of a little child. Weak faith placed in the right object is far better than strong faith in the wrong object. If the question is, “How much faith do you have to have to go to heaven?” The answer is, “Not much, as long as your faith is in Jesus.” I faced this question in a personal way when my father died 29 years ago. The day before his funeral, I spoke with our pastor and asked him about my father’s spiritual condition. I know my father heard the gospel, and I know he made a profession of faith of sorts, but I never heard him pray, never saw him read the Bible, and he never joined the church. The idea of my father in hell was too much to bear. Since then I have taken comfort in two thoughts: The first is the question Abraham asked in Genesis 18:25c, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” God is just and he is gracious. He will make no mistakes. No one will end up in hell who should have gone to heaven. The other thought is this: No one will go to hell except those who truly deserve to be there. And people who truly deserve to be in hell would never be happy in heaven. This does not answer every question, but some questions can’t be answered in this life. When we see the Lord, we will know what we don’t know now, and that’s reason enough to trust the Lord with all our unanswered questions.

Do you have any thoughts or questions about this post?