“What if, after you die, there’s nothing?” I asked.
He was one of the godliest men I’d ever met. We often talked about religious subjects. With him, I could discuss the deep things without fear he would judge me for my questions.
Knowing his lifestyle, I asked if he had ever considered the question and possibility. “I wouldn’t regret the way I’ve lived,” he answered. A reply seasoned by age and reflection. And one I’ve used myself since then.
Perhaps Paul had been questioned or was thinking about the possibility himself. “I don’t drink, smoke, chew, or hang around with those who do” is an old saying, but one that reflects a person’s intention to live a pure lifestyle. One could add a few more items to the list: theft, murder, lying, adultery, idolatry, drugs, pornography, gambling.
In place of the things I subtract from my life would be added the worship of a God who I assume loves me and has prepared a place in heaven for me after I die. But suppose it’s a lie. Suppose, when my eyes close in death, they never open again.
Nothing.
Silence.
No golden streets, no pearly gates, no heaven, no eternal state of bliss. What then?
Of course, if there’s nothing in the hereafter, I won’t be aware of it. But as another gentleman recently commented to me, “What if there is something in the hereafter and I’m not prepared for it? And then, I end up with hell.”
I’m with him. I’d rather take my chances that the Bible is true, that there is a God who loves me and has made provision for the forgiveness of my sins, and that there is a heaven awaiting my open eyes after I close them in death.
Like so many other religious concepts, belief in a hereafter takes a step of faith. I haven’t seen it. No one I know has been there and returned—even those who claim to have visited have no pictures. Yet I’m convicted in my spirit that it exists and is mine for the asking.
Are you taking the chance that heaven is for real or are you living in misery with your only hope being your present existence?
Martin Wiles is an author, pastor, English teacher, and freelance editor who resides in Greenwood, South Carolina. He is the founder and editor of the internationally recognized website, Love Lines from God (www.lovelinesfromgod.com). Wiles is the Managing Editor for Christian Devotions, the Senior Editor for Inspire a Fire, a Proof Editor for Courier Publishing, and Assistant Editor for Vinewords.net. He has also served as Web Content Editor for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolina. Wiles has authored Don’t Just Live…Really Live (Ambassador International), A Whisper in the Woods: Quiet Escapes in a Noisy World (Ambassador International), Grits & Grace & God and Grits, Gumbo, and Going to Church (Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas), Morning By Morning, Morning Serenity, and Grace Greater Than Sin (America Star Books) and is a contributing author in Penned from the Heart (Son-Rise Publications), Rise (Chaplain Publishing), and Love Knots (Vine-Word Publishing). He has served as Regional Correspondent and Sunday school lesson writer for the Baptist Courier and has also written for Lifeway’s Bible Studies for Life curriculum. He has also been published in Christian Living in the Mature Years, Mature Living, Parenting Teens, Open Windows, Proclaim, Stand Firm, The Secret Place, The Word in Season, The Upper Room, The Upper Room Disciplines, Light from the Word, Reach Out Columbia, Mustard Seed Ministries, Journey Christian Newspaper, Common Ground Herald, The Quiet Hour, Power for Living, Halo Magazine, Joyful Living Magazine, Christian Broadcasting Network, Converge, Sharing, Today’s Christian Living, These Days, Plum Tree Tavern, Eskimo Pie, The Scarlet Leaf Review, Creation Illustrated, LIVE, Purpose Magazine, The Banner, Relevant, Bible Advocate, Reasons to Live, Author Magazine, and Lutheran Digest. Wiles has also written for the Bridges and Pathways Curriculum (Warner Press) and is a regular contributor to Christian Devotions, PCC Daily Devotions, Theology Mix, Inspire a Fire, The Write Conversation, Inkspirations, and VineWords and is a regular writer for the Dorchester County Eagle Record, the Orangeburg County Times and Democrat, and the Greenwood County Index Journal. Wiles has also served on faculty for the Asheville Christian Writer’s Conference. crat, and the Greenwood County Index Journal. Wiles also serves as the Managing Editor for Christian Devotions , the Senior Editor for Inspire a Fire, and as a Proof Editor for Courier Publishing. You can follow him @linesfromgod.
