Greg Laurie, founder and senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, once said, “Everyone has an opportunity to spend his / her eternity either in heaven or in hell”. It is an enlightening statement and is quite intriguing to me. It implies that our life is eternal i.e. there exists a life after death. Also, there are two distinct locations where we will spend our “afterlife” there, depending upon our choice at current life. The immediate question is: Is there an “afterlife” exists?
One of the discovery series books titled “10 reasons to believe in life after death” by RBC ministries illustrates that “each of us experiences what King Solomon called “eternity in [our] hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).” Apparently, our hearts possess an inescapable longing for something this world cannot satisfy. It was an emptiness of soul that Solomon could not escape. The other reasons given by the book are “The injustice of life”, “Beauty and balance” and “The near death experience”. The author stated that it would be difficult to believe that life is good if we knew there was nothing beyond the grave to compensate for problems of inequality and unfairness. While some people seem destined for happiness, others are born into terrible relationships and circumstances. These three reasons are mainly from the life’s unfairness and suffering experiences and, I believe, we all have our share in experiencing them one way or another.
After illustrated the reasons experienced by life’s unfairness and suffering, the author gives us other important reasons to believe in there is a life after death, based on the Holy Scripture. They are: “There is an eternal God”, “Christ’s resurrection and promises”, and “The prediction and fulfillment of prophecy from Old Testament”. These reasoning strongly indicate that we do have a life after death. An interesting observation is: a 51% of people in a worldwide survey believe that there is an afterlife, while 76% of US people surveyed believe the afterlife, according to pastor Laurie. Apparently, most of the people believe that we have a life after death.
Naturally, “Where are we going after our death?” becomes the next pressing question. Bible told us that we will be staying in a temporary holding place after our death. This can be Hades as described by Jesus’ parable of the Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) or Paradise as is indicated in 2 Corinthians 12:4, Luke 23:43, and Revelation 2:7. Sometimes people would equate paradise to be heaven and Hades to be hell, but it is not necessary true. However, we do see two distinct destinations for our afterlife.
Now, who decides who should go to which of the two locations and when is it decided? The Bible indicates that God grants us “free will” to make choices – we decide what kind of life we want to live in this world. However, we are also responsible for the result or consequence of our choices. Apostle Paul teaches us that “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 因為隨從肉體的人，體貼肉體的事；隨從聖靈的人，體貼聖靈的事。體貼肉體的就是死，體貼聖靈的乃是生命、平安。 (Romans 8:5-6)” This means if we live according to the flesh desires, we are bounded to be sent to the Hades. Only through live in accordance with the Spirit, we can then be able spend our eternity in the paradise with God. This being said, when our lifetime in this world is expired, God sends us to one of the two locations based on our choices.
From this understanding, we can deduce that it is critical for us to make the right choice before we are expired from this world. In other words, we should examine our life constantly with the question “Where do I want to spend my eternity?”
Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.