Imagine this. It is a beautiful night for a walk in your neighborhood. It is dark, but in your experience your neighborhood is a safe place for an evening stroll. But tonight, this is not the case. Danger is waiting for you. Would you rather know about the danger or would you prefer to believe what you want to be true is true?
It should be self-evident that if there are a bunch of villanous thugs, or rabid dogs, or a giant sinkhole that is now part of the neighborhood, we would want to know about it. Danger is bad, but danger we are unprepared for is the worst. Still, many people approach death with such a wishful and ignorant attitude. We must take the walk of death someday, but we don’t want to think about it or even hear what could await us. As a result, many will pass through death expecting something heavenly, or to be non-existent, or to reincarnate; and that won’t happen for them. It doesn’t matter what you believe, it is what exists.
My point is that it makes sense to think about and study claims about death, because we definitely will do it, and it will prove to be the most important thing in our existence. I am not saying I expect all to believe the Bible on this topic. But beware of the bias caused by what you want to be true. The Bible actually puts forward something that I definitely don’t want to be true. Jesus says,
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
I would love to deny that this is true. But I do feel that the Bible, especially Jesus, has credibility. This comes not only from historical and archeological evidence, but also from reason and, in the end, from the Spirit of God. This is the giant pothole in the neighborhood. So I definitely want to be a part of the “few” and I want you to be a part of the few as well, even if I never met you.
This narrow road is Jesus. Oddly, God would rather this not be the fact either. God loves people, but people willfully became sinful and this matters. God is also a being who lives by His Law. He doesn’t compromise it. Jesus’ incarnation, life, death and resurrection create a path by which God can both save and fulfill the requirement of the Law. It’s the only path.
If you don’t believe this yet or don’t understand it, please fully investigate it. Ask God for help. Even if you are not sure there is such a being. Understanding death, what comes after it and why, is an existence defining body of knowledge. It deserves our time and effort. Not only will we avoid a bottomless sinkhole, we will have a redefined life and death will be but the beginning of the best part of our experience.
afterdeathsite 