Life After Life

I attended a funeral yesterday for my aunt Maxine.  I remember visiting her home as a child, loving the family atmosphere and laughter.  She had five kids, a large garden, and a neat house (from what I can remember).  I hadn't seen Maxine for years, and recently heard that she had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and needed to be moved to a residential facility.  My mom called me this past week to tell me that Maxine had passed away.

 

As I sat at the funeral service, the pastor said a certain phrase a few times, which really caught my attention.  He said that Maxine had passed into life after life.  Naturally I had heard "life after death" many times, but this was the first time I ever heard anyone refer to the hereafter as "life after life".  He said that since Jesus didn't say much about heaven, He knew we probably didn't have the mental capacity to fully comprehend the wonders of it.  I couldn't agree more.  Then he used a great analogy of a baby in the womb.  See, the baby has all his needs met - he's safe, warm, fed.  And if you could talk to him and try to explain what life in the outside world was like, he wouldn't be able to understand.  If you said to him, "There are wonderful things out here, like sunlight, friends, pizza, and more!"  the baby would say, "What's sunlight?  What is a friend?"   It would be impossible for the babe to understand what life outside of the womb was like.  So, too, is our concept of heaven. 

 

Do you know how to get to heaven?  Are you sure?  Yes, you can be sure.  I found a great article on Christian Women Today which explains how the Holy Spirit draws us unto Himself.  Click on the link to read more.

 

The Bible says it's better to go to a funeral than a party.  "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart."  Ecclesiastes 7:2  There's nothing quite like a funeral to cause a person to contemplate his own mortality.  As I pray for Maxine's family, it causes me to take a look at how I am spending this life.  The days are long but the years are fleeting.  May I keep in mind my own mortality, knowing that every day I have is a gift from God, in this life, and in heaven.  What a gracious God we serve!