Have you ever thought about dying itself? If you are like the majority of people in this world, then you have. In fact, in North America, we have thought about dying so much that we reserve our burial plots, create living wills that dictate how we should be cared for if we become incapacitated, fill out donor cards for our body parts to go to others who need it when we do die, develop technologies to freeze us so that we can be brought back to life when medicine is better able to combat this disease called aging, etc., etc., etc.

So far, we have been able to do nothing about the one thing that is guaranteed to affect all humans. WE ARE ALL DYING and will eventually succumb to this condition! As soon as we are born, we start dying. This is not a pessimistic nor fatalistic viewpoint. Neither is it particularly a depressing one. We are going to die, this is a fact. 

So, since we can't do anything about the fact that we are going to die, how about afterward? Can we do anything about that?

Some people say that there is nothing after death. Personally, I don't know that. I have not experienced death yet. I am not sure how they can be so sure either, since they also have not died. In fact, those that have actually experienced a clinical, scientific death, and have been able to come back to life through whatever means, say that there is indeed something there in that land after our bodies "give up the ghost". Since I have personally not been there, I would listen to those that have.

We can take the stand that there is possibly nothing there. This would mean that ultimately, life is meaningless. There really is no point to it if nothing comes of it after we die. We don't have to worry about morals, ethics, or such stuff. After all, there is no reason, except for how it affects the people around us, to do so. Even then, once they are dead, they are not going to worry about it either. Its much easier to live that way. I know people who live as if this were true. I feel sorry for them.

I realize that those who do come back give differing accounts about what they experienced, but the common agreement is, that there is something there and we will be going there when we die. I personally believe that there is something there, and how we live our lives will affect how we live our after-lives.

This is not a logic problem, not is it a scientific treatise on death or what comes after, it is instead looking at the evidence in as simple a manner as possible. 

Now, as for what will happen when we get there.

So, if you agree with me that there is something after death, then we must decide, based on the available data, what to do with that knowledge.

We can decide to ignore it and just deal with it when we get there. This would allow us to not consider the possibility that what we do while on this earth will affect how we live after we die. 

We can also decide that it may be true that when we die, we will come back in another form, such as a dog or cat, how about a cow or monkey, or maybe even a rock. 

Another belief that could be true is that after we die we will all go to a "nirvana" type of place where everything is good and no evil or bad exists. Of course, this does not explain what happens to the baser side of the human nature and all the evil that we carry around with us in its many forms throughout our mortal lives. This evil is just left out there.......Where does it go?

And so on, and so on, and so on..........

I am not trying to belittle anyone's beliefs. Just looking at the evidence that I see.


And then, there is the belief that there is definitely a life after death, there is a choice of places that we can go, and that our life and how we live it will determine which place we will go to.

One of these places is really nice. It is, in fact, everything that we have ever dreamed of, but not in the way that we have dreamed of it. We look through fairly dark perceptions to try and see a place that is so beyond our present ability to comprehend that all our imaginings only scratch the surface of what we will experience there. It is a place of such love and acceptance that we cannot even understand how it could be, except that someone told us about it. It is a place of infinite diversity, so much so that, no matter how long we are there, we will never cease to wonder at its glories. Nor will we ever be able to exhaust the new discoveries that it will offer to us. 

And because of the ability to choose, there is another place. It is not so nice. In fact, it is not nice at all. While the first place is a place of love and acceptance, the second is its opposite. There is no love. There is no acceptance. There is nothing to discover except more of the pain which will come from knowing that we had a choice and chose wrong. A choice which cannot be taken back since we are no longer living. It is a place of utter loneliness. Imagine, no love ever, not even the possibility of it because it is all in the other place. I don't want to go there. 

Now the choice......

Yes, I am speaking about becoming a Christian. I am referring to a literal heaven and hell. I do believe that Christ came, was who He said He was, and then, having told us about the choices and the consequences of each, died so that we could make the choice. 

He did not force us to follow Him, but He allowed us to join Him in His place, the place of love. 

He said that "...if you decide to follow Me, then you will join me in heaven...." (my paraphrase). 

Many people will tell you that you don't have to do anything to get this eternal life. They are talking about you trying to earn it through your life on earth, the things that you do. They are right, and they are wrong. You cannot earn heaven, but you still must do something to get there. You must accept Jesus for who He is, God. You must accept what He did, died for you and to wipe out your sins in this life. You MUST accept Him as Lord of your life. 

This is where your choice comes in. You can make the choice to not accept Him. If the belief system which says that there is no hell is right, then there will be no problem in making this choice. If the belief in Jesus is right, then there is a big problem.

You can make the choice to follow Him. This does not automatically make you a better person. In fact, the probability is that you won't change at all at first, except for that commitment which you made. 

If there is no heaven, no hell, what harm does making this decision do you. If there is a heaven and a hell, what harm will not making this decision do to you.

To make the choice is simple. "Jesus, I am sorry for not having followed You in my life. I ask Your forgiveness for my sins, which is not living the way that You wanted me to. I ask you to become the Lord of my life. Let me be one who will be with You in Your heaven. In Your name, amen"

If you make this choice, to follow Jesus, let me know. My email address is at the bottom of the page. If you would like to talk about making this choice, send me a note. Maybe we can talk. Whatever you do, know that the Lord has spoken to you, and is waiting for you to join Him. I hope that you do.

Bob