So what do you think happens when you die? Perhaps you believe in reincarnation (coming back as something/someone else). Maybe you believe you'll die and go straight to heaven/hell. Possibly you believe nothing happnes, or maybe you believe something entirely different. What I'm going to do today, is lay out for you what I believe happens to us when we die, based on my understanding of scripture.
I like to compare it to a true story from my youth. My father and I were up early, and we were on our way to the school, as I was off to compete in a sporting event. As we were driving along the road, we noticed something lying in the middle of the road. As we got closer we realized it was a cat, and he wasn't alive. As we got even closer yet, we saw that it was a large black and brown striped tiger cat. At this point my father and I turned to each other and said "Tigger"! Tigger was our large black and brown striped tiger cat.
To be more exact, Tigger was the cat that we had taken off the streets who had become my younger sister's cat. He was a street cat that despite my mother's best efforts to the contrary kept coming around our house. Finally we realized that at night my sister was feeding this cat and thus encouraging him to stick around. That was several years before, and we had since adopted him and grown quite fond of him.
Later that day my dad recounted the rest of the story to me. Having returned to the dead cat in the road, my father inspected it and determined that it was in fact Tigger. He lovingly picked up the body, took it to a special place, and gave the cat a fitting burial. Upon arriving home, my father sat down and tried to figure out how he was going to break the bad news to my mother and especially my sister, when he felt something rubbing up against his leg. Looking down he was shocked to see Tigger there purring and apparently alive and well!
Obviously my dad buried the wrong cat. Tigger had not been hit and killed by a car, but in a way this is similar to what the Bible refers to as resurrection. So now I'm sure you're asking yourself, "what is resurrection"? Well it's not like some terrible zombie movie, and it's not reincarnation, but it's also not your soul floating up to heaven. The apostle Paul compares resurrection to planting a seed in the ground and the change that takes place when that seed grows up into a plant (1 Corinthians 15:35-37). Obviously the seed/plant analogy Paul uses can only be taken so far, since when we talk about resurrection we aren't expecting to turn into plants or trees, or giant humans. When talking about resurrection we are limited because thus far there is only one example of resurrection, namely the resurrection of Jesus.
When we look at the various resurrection accounts containted in the four Gospels, we see two different emphases being presented. First, there is an emphasis on the real physical body being resurrected (eating food, crucifixion wounds, being touched). Second there is an emphasis regarding the different nature of that resurrected body (not being recognized, appearing in locked rooms, and mysteriously appearing). It seems clear that while the resurrection does involve our real physical bodies (as evidenced by the empty tomb) the result is not quite in line with what we would consider typical of a human body.
So what does this mean for us? Why should any of us care anything about resurrection, or whether or not that is our ultimate goal? For some this belief in resurrection has implications for their ability to be organ donors and to be cremated. The reasoning goes that if a part of the body is missing (organ donation) or the entire body is destroyed (cremation) then there will be an incomplete body or no body to be resurrected. My answer to these fears is simple. God created Adam from dust (Genesis 2:7), God created Eve from one rib (Genesis 2:22), and finally God created everything from nothing. Surely God can figure out how to put us back together in the resurrection.
More importantly, as pointed out by Paul (1 Corinthians 15:12-20), without resurrection, then Jesus was not who he said he was and we are all waisting our time! Resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith. Without Christ's resurrection then Jesus was just a popular teacher and healer, who was killed for being a false messiah. No, what set Jesus apart was the resurrection, and his promise that because of him those who would be his followers may also have hope and take part in the resurrection at his return.
You may or may not agree with what I've laid out above. You may never have heard of this before. You might now be even more confused and frightened about death. But you need not be. Resurrection is joyful and hopefilled. To believe in resurrection is to believe that you live with a real physical body (only better than your current body) forever! Take another look at your Bible. Read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and take a close look at Jesus teachings about death and what happens when we die. Finally realize that everywhere the word "resurrection" is used it is describing what I've laid out above.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
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