Scripture reading: Romans 8:18–25

Wishful Thinking, or Certain Hope?

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. (Hebrews 6:19)

 

Our first pastorate was a tiny Methodist Church near Crab Orchard, Kentucky. Next to a tobacco field, this little white church had a noisy furnace, a floor that sloped, an old out-of-tune organ, and no indoor plumbing. I was a seminary student at the time, and twice every week Katy and I drove the forty miles to be with our congregation. We loved it! At times we imagined that we would be happy to spend our lives among our little flock.

I’ll never forget my first funeral. I had been there only a few months when the call came. The deceased did not go to our church but had a cousin who did. Somehow that qualified me to do the burial. As the funeral approached, I discovered that Hiram (pronounced with one syllable in Kentucky) had been a bootlegger and was known all over the county for his reprobate ways. I can’t recall what I preached on that day, but I remember vividly one thing about that first funeral: the wailing. I’d never heard anything like it before or since. The memory haunts me still. I tried to preach Good News but the message was drowned out by the loud moaning. Hiram’s family knew he had died without Christ. They knew what future destiny awaited him. Nothing I could say seemed to offer any consolation for that!

Since leaving Crab Orchard I have attended many other funerals and seen other forms of grief. Our post-Christian world tries valiantly to offer consolation to those facing death. Most mourners today are more sophisticated than my wailing friends in Kentucky, but let’s face it: it’s tough to find comfort when you don’t know Jesus Christ! Our secular world valiantly seeks reassurance in the face of death through four ways:

,. Some believe in annihilation. “When you’re dead, you’re dead! The lights go out and you cease to exist.”

,. Others opt for reincarnation. Death is not the end but a door that ushers us to new life in some other form.

,. Others put their faith in a fuzzy nature religion that pretends we live on beyond the grave in the wind, the trees, the seasons, etc.

,. Many put their hope in a vague universalism that assumes everyone goes to heaven. Hitler and child molesters may go to a place called hell, but every- one else gets to live happily ever after.

To be honest, when I look at the contemporary alternatives, I prefer the wailers in Crab Orchard. At least they had the courage to face reality!

Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. (John 5:28–29)

No one will find real comfort by trying to pretend that heaven and hell are not real places for real people. Peace and consolation come only to those who embrace real truth and trust in a real Savior.

 

This is the end—for me, the beginning of life.

—Dietrich Bonhoeffer (aged 39), as he faced execution in a Nazi concentration camp

 

point to ponder • For the follower of Jesus Christ, death is not the end but the beginning.

prayer focus • Someone you know who is without God and without hope in this world.