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Where do we go when we die? By: Richard Duffield
Yes, death is inevitable in the life of any created thing that contains life. (If it was created, and has life, it will experience death!)
The saying goes, "there are 2 things one cannot avoid, death & taxes", well that statement is almost true but surely there is one thing actually, that is death.
We can safely say that death is the future of us all.
Although it is unavoidable, many go through life trying to avoid thinking about or preparing for their death!
For us, death is the end, (or so we think) but for God it is only the beginning!
Psalm 116:15 states, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints". Wait, did He say it's precious to Him when we die? That's what He said! But how could that be?
Don't we find in the Gospels that to be greatest we must be the least, (Matt.20:26, Luke 9:48) and to receive we must give, (Acts 20:35) and finally to live we must die... (Matt. 16:25, Luke 17:33 & John 12:25)
Having said that, why should we expect things to be different when it comes to death?
God says it's precious in His eyes when His saints die. In contrast we can assume it hurts His heart mightily when a sinner dies, for that death means eternal separation between God and His creation. We can assume that because scripture says, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some might count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9) and "...good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 2:4)
Wasn't the sacrifices throughout the Bible always consummated by death?
One must think about our feelings today, which one of us would think it's nice to see the throat of a young, flawless lamb to be cut? We give long jail sentences to people who mistreat their animals sometimes....(and rightfully so in a lot of cases!) Certainly we don't "have the stomach for" slaughtering helpless animals... Yet the most religious, the most sanctified priests of the Most High God had the job of slitting open the throats of the sacrifices!
Jesus, while in the "form of God" (Phil. 2:5) knew He'd have to face death, He knew that and yet still died on our behalf! (He surely understood something while in His pre-incarnate Godly existence that we can't comprehend in our fleshly bodies!) While in the "form of man" (Phil. 2:8) He could be understood as having "feared" or at least certainly did not wish to experience it (death) as His pleas in the garden of Gethsemane illustrated so vividly. (Matt. 26:36 ­ 46)
Yet it took His death and nothing less to please God.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. (Is. 55:8,9)
Truly we cannot even begin to assume that we understand the things of God and it is not our business to even try to reason out His purposes because we see only in part,
we know only in part! (1 Cor. 13:9)
Having said that please allow me to throw this out, God is Spirit... (John 4:24, 2 Cor. 3:17) He is from sinful man until the regeneration of our spirits by the acceptance as Lord and Savior of His Son Jesus, but nothing of our sinful, fleshly nature can come into His presence... He is Holy! (1 Peter 1:15,16, Lev. 11:44, 19:2, 20:7) You see, when we leave these sinful & fleshly bodies we are immediately ushered into His presence!
Notice, when Jesus walked on earth, He was not "walking" with God! (Of course He was walking with God in spirit, communicating via prayers and meditation daily, moment by moment seeking and fulfilling the Father's will but His spirit was physically here on earth and apart from God as it had always been before!) By dying He was returned to His natural position and fellowship with God. He was set free from His earthly body and after releasing all those who awaited in Shoel as the lesson taught, He returned to be forever in the presence of the Father! (Yes, His body was sinless but it restrained Him, it limited Him from being physically in the Father's presence!)
What was so terrible for those here on earth, (Jesus' death) was actually pleasing to God! Father God knew that it would take the death of Jesus' flesh to return Him to His rightful place in heaven! What we saw as torture and defeat was actually freedom and victory!
Are you beginning to concede that God's ways and thoughts are greater, higher than your own?
When we are born again of the Spirit, we are actually positioned with Christ Jesus in God (Col. 3:3) and are seated together in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6) but not physically seated with Him as we will be when our fleshly bodies are retired and our spirits set free!
As the scripture says, to be absent from the body (dead) is to be present with the Lord! (2 Cor. 5:8)
He loves us sooo much, He wants to walk together with us in the cool of the day! He longs for the time when we will physically walk and be in His presence as it was when He walked with Adam!
I think I'm beginning to see how it's precious in God's eyes the death of His saints! It means that we will be together with Him! Can you see this too?
Wait a minute, I know what you're thinking, but stop looking at this with human eyes, when we think of death we see an ending, but this life is but a blink in the eye of an eternal God! The earth is 6,000 yrs. (or 60,000,000 yrs.) old (depending on who and what you believe) but our lifespan is but 70 or 80 yrs. 90 if we're lucky. These are but ticks on the clock of eternity, but when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! We can't even imagine right now how wonderful it will be, to walk and talk, live and breath every minute, every second in God's perfect will and in His presence!
It's the very purpose for which we were created!
Knowing the above do you know without reservation that when you breathe your last breath you'll immediately be in God's presence?
If you don't please allow us to pray with you to make this important reality yours!
It's either heaven or hell, it either God or Satan, there are no other choices.
Again, THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

Be encouraged! Be of Good Cheer! God is for you & loves you! I pray this study touches your heart and causes you to focus your thoughts on the One who died for your sins!

Like the study ends, "The choice, as always, is yours! Choose Christ today!

Be blessed as only Jehovah God can bless you!

Ever in His service,

Richard P. Duffield Jr.

(If you enjoyed this study, if you have comments, criticisms, or anything else to say please feel free to let me know!)