I saw it on a bumper sticker.  Just a few words, but very thought-provoking. Good advice, good advice, fact.  Some people maintain good health habits in order to improve their quality of life; others try to stay healthy in order to extend life.  Still others focus on both objectives.

But rich people, poor people, fat people, skinny people, healthy people and sickly people share one thing in common.  We are all going to die.

God created us to enjoy food.  Unfortunately, we also can have the tendency to enjoy eating too much, as well as eating the wrong things.  He also gave us amazing bodies that are designed to self-heal.  I read somewhere that medicines don’t actually heal, but rather stabilize certain areas or relieve discomforting symptoms, while the body does the repairing.

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It’s that time of year again.  Trees budding, flowers blooming, palm fronds waving, egg decorating and the opportunity to once again sing, “Up from the grave He arose …”  For religious folk, it’s time to focus on death, particularly death by crucifixion, and resurrection.  In my wife’s childhood church, akin to the Plymouth Brethren, the weekly Lord’s Supper (worship service) is centered on “the death of our Lord Jesus.”  Every Sunday.  The entire year.  Having participated in it for years after our marriage, and now looking back, it seems so morbid.

Most Western Christians like the best of both worlds.  Jesus bled and died for our sins (sad face), but was resurrected in a glorious body (bright face).  Now, where did we hide those eggs, and could you pass that Easter ham down this way?

As I have mentioned before, I get a lot of my ideas for these articles from church signs that I observe while driving around.  I attend a Methodist church, and our sign has no slogan.  Just the church name and the pastor’s name below, which gets obliterated part of the year when the shrubbery grows up too far.

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I was taught that Hell was a place prepared for the Devil and his angels, where they would be tormented forever and ever.  They all used to be God’s angels, but their free will got them into trouble.  So he kicked them out of Heaven, which, apparently wasn’t good enough.  He went on to design a special place, where he could watch them suffer for eternity.

And since Hell was already established, what a perfect place to torment any who rejected Christ as their Lord and Savior!  How many of you out there are buying this?  For those that are — WHY?  Because the Bible says so?  I believe in God, but I have a problem with this view of his character.

I believe in Jesus, but would he really want to be a part of this eternal torture in exchange for a limited lifetime of bad decisions?  Does that seem fair?  I thought Jesus came to teach us of God’s love, and how we should love others.  I believe he died on the cross.  That’s what giving your life is all about.  Does it really have any magical salvation significance?  We’re told that Jesus’s death is the New Testament answer to the Old Testament tradition of animal sacrifice.  I love meat, but to make the killing of my food a part of a sacrificial ritual would likely turn me into a vegetarian.

I believe in Hell.  Say what?  Yes, I do.  I believe some people are already in hell.  That most of us have experienced some form of hell.  I believe that hell is necessary for our discipline; that, oddly enough, it’s part of God’s discipline.  Not to get back at us for sinning, but to wake us up to his love.  To set our minds toward understanding where we failed, and encouraging our desire to do right.  Does this make more sense?

How about spending time in outer darkness? (Matthew 22:13)  The desire for light or companionship. The reflection of evil deeds done while in the body.  The need for hope.  Maybe this is what we need.

What do you think?

On June 2, 1897 Mark Twain wrote, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”

Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

The Bible says, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement.”

No matter where we look death is in the air.  Many people have experienced the death of someone close to them.  The rest of mankind are reminded of death in the news or when passing by an accident or cemetery. With death facing us on all sides, one would wonder why we fear it so.  Perhaps it can be summed up in the fact that, while we think we know, or we hope we know, what really happens after death, we just don’t know.

My wife and I are volunteers at the hospice center of our local hospital.  Hospice is the palliative care of patients who have been given less than six months to live.  Lois provides patient care and maintains the kitchen at the Hospice House, and I work on the computer to set up bereavement care.  This particular hospice program extends 12 months of follow-up care after the death of a loved one.

By the time they are brought into the facility, most patients are at a point where they are accepting of their upcoming passage from this life.  In our training we were told of many interesting encounters where the patient would see someone who wasn’t in the room just before their death.  Lois witnessed this with my own father when she was at his bedside when he died (I was working in another state at the time).  The clinical explanation is that the neurotransmitters are shutting down, and the brain is preparing us for the end.  But you couldn’t sell that line to most hospice nurses.

We all witness death as it is.

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My neighbor’s mother died unexpectedly recently.  I don’t know the actual cause of death, but I knew that she was in a lot of pain from arthritis, neuropathy and persistent back pain.  Pain doesn’t kill, so how did she die?  Her son believed that she might have had a stroke during the night (she lived alone). That may be so, or she may have just given up.  Physical or mental circumstances can bring us to the point where we feel that we can no longer continue in this life.

Following death most cultures have a ritual in which the living gather to “pay their respects.”  I’m not sure what that really means.  Are they respecting the dead, or are they respecting the family, by showing up at the funeral?  A lot of people who go to funerals have had little or no contact with the deceased.  So what should happen in this 30 minutes to one hour gathering?

I’ll tell you what happened at this one.  There were two preachers:  one, a neighbor who ministers at a local church; the other a minister from a nearby town, and he also happened to be the deceased’s brother-in-law.

Here in the Bible Belt it’s not unusual to get gospel messages delivered at funerals.  This one was no different.  By gospel message I mean:  you’re a sinner; Jesus/God loves you; Jesus died for you; accept him and go to heaven; reject him and you go to hell.

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I love sleep.  In spite of my nagging sciatica and the initial annoyance of my breathing machine for sleep apnea, I can usually get to sleep quickly and stay asleep.  At the beginning of my senior years, however, I have started waking a few times during the night — surprisingly, not to go to the bathroom!

Our bodies are designed (yes, I said it) to take breaks at least once in a 24-hour cycle. Our muscles relax, our heart rate slows down and we dream — or not.  Of course, that late night meal puts the heart on overtime, sending needed blood to the stomach for third shift food digestion.

I think what I like best about sleep is that it provides a necessary respite from the physical and psychological rigors of the day.  Someone once said, “Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at night.” Scottish author George MacDonald believed that sleep was God’s way of developing our spiritual journey, likening it to death, in which we shake free this mortal garment and deal with greater matters of heart and soul.

The Bible speaks of patriarchs and prophets who received messages from God while asleep or in a sleep-like trance.  Jesus, on the otherhand, used sleeping hours to catch up on news from home, conversing through the night with his heavenly Father. We see him sleeping most soundly in a boat while a storm is raging.

So is sleep relegated to the earthly realm?  Will it not be necessary on the other side? We’re taught that God doesn’t sleep because he’s got the whole world in his hands. If he nods off, then catastrophes happen.  Wait, catastrophes do happen.  What’s up with that?  And if God did sleep, what would he dream about?  If he and Jesus talked all night, maybe he doesn’t have to sleep.

I think that the real issue is not whether God is asleep, but rather God IS sleep.  Sleep is synonymous with an eternal rest, eternity being a state of mind instead of a time frame.  Hebrews 4 identifies a Sabbath-rest for the people of God.  Not to press the point of a literal 6-day creation effort, but God rested from his labor; we are designed to rest from ours.

The Hebrews passage, however, goes beyond the concept of physical rest.  It speaks more of a spiritual rest, and it states that disobedience will interrupt that rest.  Sleep, then, has not only a physical application, but is symbolically representative of the dealings of the mind, an other-wordly existence.  Another unknown source said, “A conscience is like a baby.  It has to go to sleep before you can.”

If God does sleep, I’m glad he doesn’t snore.  Then none of us would get any sleep.

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

Matthew 16:27

I’m not so sure any more when this event will happen. It sounds like an official closing out of history, with Jesus sorting everything out and judging those of us who are still standing on That Day.

I’m less concerned about the when and where as I am about the what. What kind of reward will it be? What do I have to do to get one? What happens to me if I don’t merit a reward? Why are most Christians down on works, when this certainly seems like the basis on which we get the rewards?

What I can get from the verse, however, is that he wants us to be found doing good. His Spirit (Christ/God) within us reminds us daily what is good and what we can personally do about it. This is called obedience. God doesn’t want a disobedient child. Nor does he want an apathetic child. He wants an active child, who goes about doing his Father’s business.

It seems to me that the active Christian life consists of three things. First, we must have an open line to God. Along with brief “Thank You’s” and “Help Me’s” throughout the day, we should consciously plan a quiet time to be with Him and to share whatever is laid upon our heart. If there is nothing to share, then we should just listen. His Spirit will pray for us.

Secondly, we should obey. God is constantly telling us what we should embrace and what we should avoid. We must always be aware that Pride is the greatest enemy of perfect obedience.

Overall, we must love. We are to look upon creation as He sees it. What he has made is very good, even though it is often tainted with evil. He plans the redemption of everything. We must help Him in this work. That’s what obedient children do.

Being older has its ups and downs. I will be eligible for early social security income this year, but it’s not like I have one foot in the grave. For one thing, having grandchildren is God’s way of saying, “Thanks for sticking around.” Also seeing your children display some of your traits is both heartwarming and scary.

Running out of breath while I’m down there tying my shoes is a little annoying, and looking at something on the bottom shelf at Walmart, then having to find another shelf that will support you while pulling yourself up is embarrassing. But all in all, life is good. My mind is younger than ever; it’s where I live a lot of time these days.

There are a lot of people, however, young and old, who are just not at home with themselves.

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I’m using my imagination here.  So if you expect me to prove my points with scriptural references or quotes from respected Bible scholars, you will be disappointed.  If, however, you will join me in speculating on what might happen after death, you may be surprised how much God will use your own imagination as you focus on his love and your sanctification.

Rather than asking what happens after death, what if we considered what should happen after death.  I know, we must be careful not to act like little gods.  One ground rule should be that we are ever conscious of the fact that God is always present; therefore, we are imagining how He would orchestrate this journey that we’re on, especially that portion of the journey following our last breath in this mortal existence.

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Most people would agree that we seem to be on a journey in this life.  The old gospel song, Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad, gives the image of our trip “from the cradle to the grave.”  Being conscious of the concept of time, we see the world around us changing, ourselves and our families aging, and have encountered numerous births and funerals over our lifetime.  We who are seniors look back and wonder where the time went, wishing, at times, for some do-overs.

In various religious circles a perfecting process is recognized.  Through our encounter with God we see where we have failed and where we need to improve.  Some often can see a clear progression in themselves and others.  But we also can see those who seem to be moving backwards; their bodies are aging, but their minds are deteriorating, as evidenced by their behavior.  What should be obvious, however, is that a great many exit this life as “unfinished business.”

I believe that we were all created by God, and that there is no one accurate, true religion.

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