For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21, NASB)
You can spot golfers at an airport. Most look like they could walk off the plane onto the first tee at Augusta. We wear our finest in anticipation of our upcoming golf trip.
Golfers will ask strangers in their finest airport chit-chat, “Where you headed?” Don’t we love to answer that question when the destination is a course on our bucket list?
I have never heard anyone at the airport answer, “I have no idea where I am headed. I just got dressed up to get on this plane and hope it’s a good destination. Maybe even better than here.”
Silly, you say. But what if you asked someone where are you headed after death?
One very intelligent friend of mine told me, “I have no idea, and neither do you. We live. We die. That’s it. So many people believe so many different things about what happens next. How do we really know where we are headed?”
Jesus, the Bible, and the eternity God set in our hearts give us the answer. God would not make us in His image and give us the life of an insect. Jesus has a lot to say about the future.
John 14:1-3 clearly states that we are headed to a place He has prepared. Philippians 1:21 says that it will be far better than here. For those who have trusted Jesus, it says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Luke 23:43 states that at death, we [those who put their faith in Messiah Jesus] will be with Jesus immediately in Paradise.
For those who have not trusted Jesus, Hebrews 9:27 explains that it is appointed for man to die once and then face judgment. Luke 16 recounts the agony of those separated from God (the rich man) and of the one who loves God (Lazarus).
Now remember this truth—none are righteous. We are declared righteous when we accept God’s gift of grace and become a new creation in Christ. Only then are we declared righteous.
There is a plan in place and a destination for all of us. I love the cartoon of a young girl pointing her finger at the camera and saying, “Don’t worry about dying. You are going to live forever. All you have to worry about is Location. Location. Location.”
Compare a passing shadow to our New Home that never ends. Psalm 144:4 states, “Man is a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.” Astounding!
Our years here are compared to a passing shadow on a warm summer day. It begins and ends in a matter of seconds.
Our New Home knows no end and will be more fulfilling and inspirational than this wonderful life we have lived here, compared to the shadow of things to come. We cannot have happiness and peace apart from Him. God made us this way.
One out of every thirty-seven verses in the New Testament declares His second coming. It was His last act on this earth after the resurrection and is described in Acts 1:9-11. He left into the clouds and declared that He is coming back the same way to get us, in the clouds—no more shadows.
Imagine meeting Jesus and embracing Him. Hearing those words that live forever, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant. You have fought the fight and finished the course and kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for you the crown of righteousness…” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
So, rejoice knowing your new location lasts forever, and share the Good News with others today. It is a life-and-death choice.
Prayer- Let us live now in anticipation of your promise of a new life forever with You.