With the recent passage of July 4 – and before that Memorial Day – I have come to appreciate these days of reflection more and more. The longer I live life without being in the service or police force, the more I feel indebted to them (even after a questionable speeding ticket yesterday). And several students I’ve worked with have taken very active and sometimes dangerous roles in protecting our country’s freedom, making it more personal and quasi-parental. I’m also old enough now to see with my own eyes the physical and psychological impact such a sacrifice entails.
I cry freely at our cemetery’s memorial services, and I’m glad it unsettles my boys enough to ask why. I don’t have the depth of experience many could summon to answer questions about loss and grieving perhaps more richly, but I do believe there are many different healthy and helpful ways each of us can process death.
For me these often take the form of the hope and promise of God’s biblical heaven, which in the Bible turns out to be a lot more rational and refreshing than the “pie-in-the-sky” wishful thinking it’s sometimes considered. However, skeptics rightfully point out that the heaven many Christians look forward to is not as perfect a coping mechanism for death as it’s assumed to be.
I often hear heaven portrayed primarily as the place we’ll see all our loved ones again and forever do all the awesome things with them we enjoyed doing here. But what about those who don’t have any loved ones going to heaven? What about those who died before experiencing any awesome things on earth? What about those who were oppressed or martyred who primarily experienced decidedly awful things here and would appreciate anything but a heaven that in any way resembles their earthly lives?
A fellow physician very candidly told me once that he’d never want to go to heaven because all the people he dislikes would be there…while all his friends would be in hell! He has a point. If heaven is where people who pretty much only hung out with other Christians look forward to reliving their sheltered lives together, how would that be comforting to anyone experiencing life and death in the non-Christian world? How often is our idea of heaven really only a great way for us – not everyone – to cope with death (Click to tweet)?
Fortunately, God’s idea of heaven is a bit different (after all, he kinda takes a back seat in the one above!). His is a heaven that can give true hope to everyone confronted with death. One that is equally sympathetic to those who can or can’t bring their loved ones with them. One that is independent of the length or happiness of our earthly experience. One that cannot be diminished by the coexistence of hell. One that offers what God knows is perfect for us, not what we think is perfect for us (Click to tweet). One where death finally dies in the very best way.
Understanding the rational and refreshing biblical heaven is what helps me the most when death seems so shocking and senseless. We explore it in depth in Healing Hereafter (Booklet 8 in particular), and it’s awesome in ways most people never even realize. In just two clicks you can download this ebook series for free right here.
May we all be allowed dedicated time to appreciate what others have given us, to console those who mourn, and to discover the hope that God invites all of us to in his healed hereafter!
