Right or wrong, I do not come from a family that sheltered children from the reality of death. It is partially a result of my dad being quite far down a long line of siblings. He and his twin sister were numbers ten and eleven of thirteen. That also meant that there would be cousins much older than me. I was born near the latter end of the decade of the 60’s and my earliest funeral memories were cousins: one the victim of a fatal car crash, the other a casualty of the war in Vietnam. One was the open coffin type receiving; the other was not. Both memorable to a very young boy for different reasons. The first time you see the motionless, unanimated remains of a person you’ve seen alive, it’s an imprint on your reality. Also, the first time you experience, especially as a young child, the gun salute, bugle, and presentation of the folded American flag of a military funeral, your reality is equally imprinted. The sadness and weeping of tragic loss is also indelible on the young mind.
Not sure how old I was, still very young, when several teenagers and/or pre-teens died in a nearby community, as a result of a freak explosion. One of them happened to be the daughter of my parent’s close friends. When I was seven, my maternal grandfather passed away. It was not sudden; he had been very sick for some time. Yet a loss that would affect me for a much longer period. The first person I can remember genuinely missing, with the awareness that he would not be coming back.
I was probably about ten or eleven the first time I had to see and process, from a family perspective, that babies too sometimes die. This time a cousin lost a months old son to what was then known as SIDS. Anyway, my point in all this morbidity is that we all come to our understanding of mortality in our own various ways. It’s a much different world that children live in and experience today. Their exposure comes in many forms, most notably television and video games. The change, from my perspective, has been most emphatic in children born into a post 9/11 society. Not quite sure human life is even valued the same way it was when I was a child. The evidence, from my view, is pretty conclusive that it is not. But that could have been just as true between the generations in my day. The rapidity of change does seem to escalate with each generation though.
One truth doesn’t change. We all have expiration dates. Since, at least Adam and Eve, life spans, brief, extensive, and everything in between, have been granted. You are reading this, so you are somewhere within your very own span. Limited at best. There will one day be that first second to tick, since your conception, when you do not live anymore. Some people would say that they are okay if that’s all there ever is. I would say, if that’s all there is, then you don’t get to choose how you are with it. Your choosing, your opinions, thoughts, and ideas all go with you. Of course, we should all hope that we leave a mark, some level of positive influence.
I can surely see the perceived liberty in not believing or caring if there is anything beyond this existence. Get all you can, any way you choose to get it. But that scenario would make me even more sad for the brevity of existence that some people get. Where was their chance to have, or give, for that matter? Still others choose to hope and believe that there is something beyond this, that this is not all that we were designed to experience.
Perhaps the whole debate would be simpler if it was just either/or. You either believe this is all there is, or you believe there is more to come. But even among the believers, there are many ideas about what that “something beyond” really is, who gets to experience it, and how you manage to arrive there. If this writing could settle all of that, I would be in unchartered territory. That is not the goal. For those of us with a sustaining hope in a better, brighter, less toilsome day, it is best if we all pause a moment in that common air.
Too often our conversations ultimately migrate to differences of understanding instead of celebrating the shared hope within us. It is cliché to say that a rising tide raises all boats, but there is so much simple truth in the concept. Most believers seem to agree that Jesus Christ is that tide. He himself stated a similar concept. In the gospel of John (12:32) “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” The “if” was accomplished at least twofold, lifted up in His crucifixion and lifted up in His ascension to the Father. We can also lift Him up today in praise and testimony. But again, that part of our journey often divides us. Yes, sadly enough, even how we choose to praise and testify can put us at odds. I think it is by design. We should all know that there is a being who is fully committed to placing obstacles in each believer’s path. And getting us to wrestle amongst ourselves is a very effective part of his arsenal. If the adversary can’t get us to deny our Redeemer, maybe the next best thing is to help us disagree on the best way to honor, worship, and serve Him. A divergence in understanding is not necessarily destructive to every believer, but can definitely foster/assist in confusion to some.
It has nearly always been the opinion of this writer that believers are much more thoroughly served when they concentrate on the commonalities more than the differences. The belief that a loving Father/Creator has provided a “way” for us in the monumental sacrifice of His only begotten is the optimum in all that believers have in common. Also, very high on that list is the hope mentioned earlier. Having faith that there is much more than whatever can be achieved in our “span”. If your life and consequences have conditioned you or brought you to a place of being satisfied/okay with an idea that this is it, I’m not sure you can read anything anywhere that would alter that perception, perspective, conviction, or acceptance. Nevertheless, here you are, still reading. If not a partaker, perhaps it’s just the consideration of information. I can admit an admiration for people who are confident enough in their own conviction that they are not threatened by alternate views. I am convinced that my ability to conversate and debate is only enhanced by the attempt to understand views that are different than my own. It’s not much of a conviction if it can’t stand up to a little weather. The Word tells us that the wise among us build on firm foundations. Trials come. Winds blow. Ease and simplicity could possibly motivate one to adopt a “this is it” mentality. “I don’t have to try to please anyone or follow any rules”. I can see the liberty, the freedom to do what suits me without the fear of repercussions. What seems limitless though, really is not. There is an appointment out there for me. I’ve known that from the time I was a child and, also learned early that it can arrive much sooner than I would prefer. Whatever my span turns out to be, it’s the time I have to decide, to come to a conclusion. Freedom for a lifetime or real freedom, from pain, from sickness, from sorrow, and death forever? For some, the what if is too large. What if the hope is not real? What if the reward doesn’t exist? Then I wasted my life trying to qualify for a myth. Doing the right thing didn’t always feel the best. I could have been happier, for a span.
If you are in that category, it’s something you have to work out. Perhaps you already have. Maybe you are settled and decided. If you are not, if you are still considering, think seriously about what you are really offered from life. Of course, there are many joys. All of life, for most, is not sadness and suffering. The average life is made up of peaks, valleys, and the in between. If we choose, either edge of that spectrum can educate and strengthen us. On the other hand, you probably know or know of someone who has been beaten down or robbed of peace and joy by the obstacles that life has dropped in their paths. There is no getting around the reality that some people just seem to get more than their fair share of challenges from life. In some cases, it can simply stem from poor decision making. Still bad, but it doesn’t break our hearts like seeing bad things happen to good, responsible, caring people. It seems like a fair world would be one where the best results always came to those with the best intentions and best actions. Mankind’s history certainly does not support any notion of that kind of fairness, not very consistently anyway. So, even the “this is all there is” theory is a lottery. For me to be able to do whatever it is that makes me feel good, the feel good is the reward. However long or brief it may be. Frankly, I can’t name an action that a person can do once that makes them feel good for a lifetime. Actions that make me feel good temporarily, must be repeated for the feeling to be duplicated. If there were an elixir that one could drink and impart immortality in this world of unexpected results, I would not be enticed. It has only taken half of one century for me to realize, whatever my span here is, it will be enough. Fully understanding that there are millions upon millions who would have been grateful to have had 50 years to experience anything. Not the least of which are those who gave all in order to protect the freedoms I have benefitted from. I have been blessed as well as challenged. That trend may continue for as long as I live, but the scales could tip heavily one way or the other.
I have hope for immortality in a future world of consistent good. If I am wrong, I probably won’t know it. Nor will I have the opportunity to lament missing whatever those things are which the “this is all there is” folks believe they are gaining here and now. If you are in that camp, can you tell me again what those things are? Yeah, those things, the ones you would miss while trying to qualify for a myth. Looks like the major difference is that some of the believer’s gratification is delayed, while the other’s gratification is here and now. I’ll stick with hope. Nothing has happened in my half-century+ to make me want to trade it for the inconsistent, too often unjust results. And I only have one, limited lifetime to decide.
