Two ninety-year-old women, Rose and Barb, had been friends all of their lives. When it was clear that Rose was dying, Barb visited her every day. One day, in conversation, Barb said, “Rose, we both loved playing women’s softball all our lives, we even played all through High School and College. Please do me one big favor. When you get to Heaven, somehow, you must let me know if there’s women’s softball there.” Rose looked up at Barb from her deathbed and said, “Barb, you’ve been my best friend all my life. If it’s at all possible, I’ll do this favor for you.” A short period passed, then came the day when Rose passed on. At midnight the following Friday, Barb was awaken from a sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to her, “Barb! Barb!” “Who is it?” asked Barb, sitting up suddenly. “Who is it? Barb, it’s me, Rose!” “You’re not Rose. Rose just died”, said Barb. “I’m telling you, it’s me, Rose”, insisted the voice. Now fully awake, Barb yelled in excitement, “Rose! Where are you?” “In Heaven”, replied Rose. “I have a lot of good news and a little bad news for you.” “Tell me the good news first”, said Barb. “The good news”, Rose started, “is that there’s softball in heaven. Better yet, all of our old buddies who died before us are here, too. Better than that, we’re all young again. Better still, it’s always springtime, and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we can play softball all we want, and we never get tired.” “That’s fantastic”, said Barb. “It’s beyond my wildest dreams! So, what’s the bad news?” “Oh”, said Rose, matter-of-factly, “You’re scheduled to pitch next Tuesday.”
[Matthew 24: 36-51] We all know that no one will be contacting us from the other side of death to let us know how great heaven is, or how horrible hell is. (Luke 16:19-31) That’s already happened once and we shouldn’t have the need for any further explanation of what to expect after our death. God loves us so much He sent His Son to save us from the second death. That’s sort of verse two of the redemption song. Think about this. If heaven is life eternal, then hell has to be death eternal. Are you willing to lie on your deathbed for eternity, wishing you would just die and end it all, but you’re unable to die? Maybe you’ve never really contemplated that. Existence in Hades, one will find himself all alone, in the darkness, friendless, suffering in agony, forever and ever. (Revelation 21:8) That’s the other side of the coin of eternal life. Existence in Heaven is being in the presence of God. God is love. (1 John 4:8 & 16) God is light. (Revelation 21:23) There will be no more night. (Revelation 22:5) There will be no more death, no pain or agony, no mourning or crying. (Revelation 21:3-4) Why do we have so much trouble and rebellion in the world today? People do not have love; God. People do not believe in a spiritual life. And many who do want to make the spirit something mystical, something that no one can fully understand, so push it aside because it “bugs” them too much. Consequently, they attempt to silence their spiritual side with the pleasures of life. Those who refuse to listen to the calling of God, those who keep trying to bury their beckoning spirit to answer God’s call, will in the end, “…stand before God’s judgment seat. ‘As surely as I live’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God’. So then, each of us will give an account to God” (Romans 14:11-12) “…be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 16:28) Seek God.
No comments:
Post a Comment