Death is extremely rude. It respects no one’s timetable. This was a busy week. I was trying to kick off a new ministry and preparing for a trip to Singapore. Then the news came. A good friend’s father had passed away.
Death is extremely rude. It respects no one’s timetable. This was a busy week. I was trying to kick off a new ministry and preparing for a trip to Singapore. Then the news came. A good friend’s father had passed away.
So I found myself in Penang, witnessing again first hand, the elaborate traditional funeral rituals of the Malaysian Chinese. These rituals had to be carefully done so that the soul of the deceased could reach the next world safely.
Intuitively, many cultures and religions view death as a journey from this world to the next. More than that, it seems to be universally recognised that this is not a journey to be taken without help.
Since death is the universal journey, it would seem prudent that we be prepared for the trip. Unfortunately, death is a taboo subject, even in the church.Ê
What help can we expect for this trip?
1. Maps are difficult.
Imagine an eskimo trying to describe his/her home country to Bedouin who has never left the Sahara desert. There would be some parallels but many things would be hard to describe.
John tells us something about the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation. But images of square cities with twelve gates mean little in a techno age largely ignorant of Jewish symbols. And apart from John, and the other bible writers, everybody else is just guessing. It is hard to describe the nature of life after death. While maps are difficult, we do have a guide.
2. There is one reliable guide.
There is only one person who has successfully traveled the journey from this life to the next and come back to talk about it. Jesus said in John 14:1-3:
“Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (NLT)
Death is a journey into the unknown. But there is one reliable guide. His credentials are impeccable. He died… and rose again. He knows the safe way from this world to the next. He will guide us. Are you fearful of death? Jesus’ call to us, as always, is to trust. Trust in God. Trust in Him. He will see us through.
3. Meanwhile it makes sense to prepare for the trip.
Have you climbed Mount Kinabalu? If you are serious about making the climb then it would make sense to prepare yourself.
What will life be like in the next world? Wrestling with John’s metaphors, we can safely conclude that heaven is a place where the focus is on God and on people. Material possessions are meaningless there since God provides all that we need.
Are you training to go there? Then it would make sense for your life to revolve around God and people. And not material possessions. So that when the departure call does come, we will be ready and will not experience excessive culture shock when we make the trip to the other side.
Focusing on God and people – that feels like a foretaste of heaven.
I have only one more day to prepare for my trip to Singapore. Where is my passport? Do I have enough Singaporean currency?
Every trip requires preparation.