Point of No Return
Luke 23:32-43
What happens when we die?
Photo by Melissa Guresso on Unsplash
Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." - Luke 23:32-43
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus promises the criminal that he would be with Jesus in paradise, on this very day.
That must have been fantastic news for that criminal who knew he was going to die alongside Jesus.
Paul tackled this problem in his letters to the Corinthians and the Philippians. He told them they would depart from this body and be with Christ.
I like that concept of death. The body dies, but the spirit or soul does not.
Christianity is not the only religion with the concept of a soul. Many religions, including the top four have some idea of a God-given, eternal soul.
So, why is there so much uncertainty about death and what comes after?
Jesus wanted us to focus on being in God's Kingdom while we are alive, and not to wait until we die. We still struggle with that concept. It is one thing to believe there is a kingdom in the clouds with a man sitting on a throne and subjects praising him all day long, and another to believe we make God's kingdom great by how we live.
When I was a kid, death was a weird thing. We saw fake death all the time in westerns and movies, and we played games where we pretended to kill each other. Was that healthy? God knows.
But in our religious education classes, we learned to fear death. It was a point of judgment for all we have done in life. Don't go there. God will hold you accountable for the cookies you stole from the cookie jar.
So, death became a time of punishment, for none of us felt we were good enough to make it through the gate.
But now, so many years later, and a lot closer to that point of no return, I see death differently. I like to believe it is a transition point, a door we pass through. It is a new birth of sorts where, once again, we cannot go back into the womb.
The day will come when I know for certain what is on the other side of that door, and I tell myself I will go through willingly. I have expectations. We all do, unless we have given up on our faith altogether.
Imagine being in the presence of God and thinking, I could have believed in you all along. How much different my life would have been knowing you were there for me.
It's not too late to start now.
More to come...
Amen!
I enjoyed this piece however I’d like to comment on one thing.
The concept of an eternal soul in Christianity came from Plato I believe, it was not an original teaching. Take for example the verse (the following verses I provide are from the king James Bible)
Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul”
It says God gave Adam’s formed body something called the breath of life and he became a soul. The traditional rendering in Hebrew is neʹphesh, translated “soul,” and it means ‘a creature that breathes.’
In examining the way the traditional terms, neʹphesh and psy·kheʹ, are used in the Bible, it becomes evident that they basically refer to (1) people, (2) animals, or (3) the life that a person or an animal has. (Ge 1:20; 2:7; Nu 31:28; 1Pe 3:20
Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
This verse clearly explains the soul can die. So if the soul dies, what is the spirit that returns to God? Let’s examine that verse.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it”
In the Bible, the words translated “spirit” basically mean “breath.” But this implies much more than the act of breathing. The Bible writer James, for example, states: “The body without spirit is dead.” (James 2:26) Hence, spirit is that which animates the body, sounds like the breath of life doesn’t it?
The spirit, or life-force, can be compared to electric current that flows through a machine or an appliance.
Yet, an electric current never takes on the features of the equipment it activates. It remains simply a force. Similarly, the life-force does not take on any of the characteristics of the creatures it animates. It has no personality, no thinking ability.
Both humans and animals “have but one spirit.” (Ecclesiastes 3:19) Hence, when a person dies, his spirit does not go on existing as a spirit creature.
Here is a verse that might explain how the spirit is separate from the soul, and how the spirit returning to God is not a conscious journey.
Consider what the Scriptures say about Jesus’ death. The gospel writer Luke relates: “Jesus called with a loud voice and said: ‘Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.’ When he had said this, he expired.” (Luke 23:46) As Jesus’ spirit went out of him, he was not literally on his way to heaven. Jesus was not resurrected from the dead until the third day. And it was 40 more days before he ascended to heaven. (Acts 1:3, 9) At the time of his death, however, Jesus confidently left his spirit in his Father’s hands, fully trusting in his ability to bring him back to life.
Similarly, at death no actual movement from the earth to the heavenly realm occurs when the spirit “returns” to God. Remember, the spirit is the life-force. Once that force is gone from a person, only God has the ability to restore it to him. So the spirit “returns to the true God” in that any hope of future life for that person now rests entirely with God.
This was longer than I originally intended, I hope you can find some helpful information there!