Voices from Eternity
Most of us, if we have been alive for any length of time, have had to experience the loss of those we love. Whether it’s a husband, wife, mother, father, sibling or even those for whom we cared deeply, we have all known the loss of someone special. Many of us, including me, have experienced these losses at a very young age. These can be very difficult. Perhaps we feel that we didn't get enough time with them or that we are waiting for our own death so that we can join them. The hope is that we will have all the time in the world at some point to catch up and really enjoy them.
I have an acquaintance who holds to his father's religious views which unfortunately are not Biblical at all. My friend believes that if he breaks his religious tradition to become a believer in Christ that his father will never forgive him. The thought of hurting his father's feelings, even though his father has been long deceased, keeps him from really considering Christ's claims for himself.
If this describes someone you know that isn't yet a believer in Jesus Christ, let me assure you that those who have died before us have our best interests in mind, even as we speak. Those of our love ones already in eternity are dwelling in heaven or hell. Since the Bible does not speak of any sort of intermediary place, I won't discuss the issue of purgatory. However, our loved ones are not silent in heaven about our eternal decisions in the now and now. They deeply desire us to make better decisions even if their eternal decisions were wrong. Let me explain.
Jesus said that when a sinner is saved that there is rejoicing in heaven by even the angels! (Luke 15:10). This rejoicing is loud, demonstrative, and real. If that much is so, then we can be certain that people in heaven are also aware, to some degree, of the eternal decisions we are making right now including the time we each die. Those already gone, whether or not they are with the Lord in heaven are anxious for you and me. They desire us to make the correct eternal decisions. If they themselves did not, you can be absolutely certain that they are earnestly determined that you do not do the same.
Luke 16:19-31 records the story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus who used to beg scraps from the rich man's table. The rich man lived a life without knowing the Lord. He died and awoke in Hades. Lazarsus, who knew the Lord also died and went to Paradise. This was the location of heaven in the OT period. Tormented in Hell, the rich man saw Abraham in Paradise across a great divide and asked him if Lazarus could bring him some water to cool his tongue in hell. Abraham had to remind him that no one could cross the divide from one side of their respective eternal abodes to another. But then the rich man said something which speaks directly to what we are talking about today. He said,
I beg you father Abraham, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so they will not also come to this place of torment.
Let me ask that you consider these words being spoken not by the rich man so many years ago, but by someone you know who may very well be speaking those same words for you. First of all, it is presumptuous for you to think that they are in hell. No one can be certain of our loved one's decisions up to the time they passed away! If the thief on the cross could be saved at the eleventh hour, it is also possible for anyone else who truly turns in their hearts from their sin and opens their hearts to the Savior! Even while unconscious, the mind is still active, so don't assume the worst even then!
Secondly, if in fact they did not make a different decision toward Christ than we observed in their lifetime, these persons are wanting you to not make the same decisions! Look at the text above and be released from the bondage to family religious traditions, philosophies, and world-views that you presently recognize to be in error. Don't make the same decisions because even now your loves ones are pointing you to the love of Christ who died to set you free from the penalty of sin........forever!
I have an acquaintance who holds to his father's religious views which unfortunately are not Biblical at all. My friend believes that if he breaks his religious tradition to become a believer in Christ that his father will never forgive him. The thought of hurting his father's feelings, even though his father has been long deceased, keeps him from really considering Christ's claims for himself.
If this describes someone you know that isn't yet a believer in Jesus Christ, let me assure you that those who have died before us have our best interests in mind, even as we speak. Those of our love ones already in eternity are dwelling in heaven or hell. Since the Bible does not speak of any sort of intermediary place, I won't discuss the issue of purgatory. However, our loved ones are not silent in heaven about our eternal decisions in the now and now. They deeply desire us to make better decisions even if their eternal decisions were wrong. Let me explain.
Jesus said that when a sinner is saved that there is rejoicing in heaven by even the angels! (Luke 15:10). This rejoicing is loud, demonstrative, and real. If that much is so, then we can be certain that people in heaven are also aware, to some degree, of the eternal decisions we are making right now including the time we each die. Those already gone, whether or not they are with the Lord in heaven are anxious for you and me. They desire us to make the correct eternal decisions. If they themselves did not, you can be absolutely certain that they are earnestly determined that you do not do the same.
Luke 16:19-31 records the story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus who used to beg scraps from the rich man's table. The rich man lived a life without knowing the Lord. He died and awoke in Hades. Lazarsus, who knew the Lord also died and went to Paradise. This was the location of heaven in the OT period. Tormented in Hell, the rich man saw Abraham in Paradise across a great divide and asked him if Lazarus could bring him some water to cool his tongue in hell. Abraham had to remind him that no one could cross the divide from one side of their respective eternal abodes to another. But then the rich man said something which speaks directly to what we are talking about today. He said,
I beg you father Abraham, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so they will not also come to this place of torment.
Let me ask that you consider these words being spoken not by the rich man so many years ago, but by someone you know who may very well be speaking those same words for you. First of all, it is presumptuous for you to think that they are in hell. No one can be certain of our loved one's decisions up to the time they passed away! If the thief on the cross could be saved at the eleventh hour, it is also possible for anyone else who truly turns in their hearts from their sin and opens their hearts to the Savior! Even while unconscious, the mind is still active, so don't assume the worst even then!
Secondly, if in fact they did not make a different decision toward Christ than we observed in their lifetime, these persons are wanting you to not make the same decisions! Look at the text above and be released from the bondage to family religious traditions, philosophies, and world-views that you presently recognize to be in error. Don't make the same decisions because even now your loves ones are pointing you to the love of Christ who died to set you free from the penalty of sin........forever!
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