The following article was written by Jason Dickey of Tampa, FL.
In the last two weeks we have considered the goal for which we strive and made sure to define what this goal does not mean. Today I want us to spend some time considering that the mere existence of our Spiritual Goal, our resurrected home, is enough.
As we scour the scriptures in a search of finding the truth about what our home will be like we invariably come out with as many questions as answers. This does not mean that we should stop our search or consider such a journey as futile, quite the contrary. This quest is vital to our faith building and to our understanding of who we are striving to be and so we must press forward in it with the longing of a lost child searching for their father.
I make this point so that I can make sure my next is not misunderstood. Yes the “afterlife” is a complicated and in some ways vague picture. This impressionistic image of some future “home” can lead us to doubt or question that which we seek after. It can fill us with doubt about whether all the work we put into our search and character building is worth it. This morning I want to say that regardless of any details the mere existence of this goal is enough.
There are many things I don’t understand or can even comprehend. There are tragedies and joys I have not and never will experience and yet I can say with confidence that the presence and promise of the hope that God has given us makes all the tribulation and triumph that is laid before us simply a step in a long journey. These prescient experiences are momentary and insignificant. Let us consider but for a moment how the existence of this goal can make such emotional aspects of our lives count as nothing.
We live in a world of death and suffering. We all will die. This fact is inescapable and frames the way we view everything. As the Preacher notes in his book of wisdom, Ecclesiastes, death equalizes the wise man and the fool the rich and the poor. Death humbles the mighty and the coward just the same. In light of such impending doom all of our actions are made worthless, we strive to find some sort of standard to make sense of it all. The latest philosophical attempt of man is to say that we all find our own individual “truth” to live by and that there is no absolute “truth” to the “universe”. This postmodern view of the world leads to a, find your own happiness approach to everything. Honestly this argument and worldview makes sense when the only immutable fact of life is death. This, though, is what makes the very presence of our goal so valuable.
You see whether we understand how heaven “works” or not doesn’t matter in light of the universality of death. The fact that death doesn’t have to be the end and that we can live after life changes everything. There is a goal, a meaning, a purpose. There is that which can be attained. It’s very presence makes our actions and deeds meaningful. If we can but accept that God is waiting in eternity for us, we should then be able to do whatever it takes to overcome the temptations and trials, darkness and depravity that is laid before us. We can live again. We can continue to exist. Our “spiritual” goal is that which makes all the transient tests of life momentary and light. If you can but hope and have faith that this goal and life after life exists, then you can overcome.