Grow Old Along with Me

A number of years ago while serving a church in Fremont, California, I would often get calls from the local funeral home asking if I could help with services. There were only four mortuaries in this city of over 200,000 people, and many of the folks did not have a church home. Our church was really close by, and as a result, I got to know the staff at the local funeral home very well. I was helping with one of these services one afternoon, and following the service at the mortuary, I was riding in the hearse with the undertaker to the graveside ceremony. We passed by the local hospital, and I asked my friend Jeff, the undertaker, what happens when someone dies at the hospital? Is there a room where they take the people, or do you have to go up to the hospital room to get them? How does that work? He told me about the procedure they follow and the appropriate protocol. Then I said, “Well, I was just wondering, because in my volunteer work as a chaplain at the hospital, I’ve been in the room many times when someone has died.” Now, remember, we are riding in the hearse with a dead body right behind us, and he turned and looked over at me in the passenger seat of the hearse and exclaimed, “You’ve been in the room when someone has died!” “Well, yeah.” I answered. He responded, “Man, that’s creepy!!!” How do you respond to an undertaker that says your job is creepy?!!! I vividly remember one particular day at the hospital, because of the stark contrast between the individuals I went to see. As a volunteer chaplain, I was often called to visit with people I had never met before. So, I was called to the hospital one day to visit with two different ladies both of whom were very near to death. I did not know their spiritual condition. I had never met these ladies before, but I do know one seemed to have a sense of calm and peace, while the other was wild-eyed and appeared to be very frantic and upset. She was thrashing about on the bed and couldn’t seem to relax. I could definitely be wrong, and I’m certainly not the Holy Spirit, but it seemed very clear to me that one lady was prepared to die, while the other was not. I’ll never forget the stark contrast between what I encountered in each room. I believe the research of Dr. Maurice Rawlings, a man who has done extensive research with near death experiences, can shed some light on my experiences that day. He reports that half of the people he interviewed following a near death experience have a vision of hell rather than a vision of heaven. Ironically, we don’t ever hear about these experiences. All we ever hear about is some kind of bright light which draws you lovingly to itself, but apparently, according to Dr. Rawlings, half of the people who have these types of experiences have seen something quite different. Now, why would one person facing death have a sense of calm, peace, and tranquility, while the other is frantic, panicked, and filled with fear? Why would one person have a vision of heaven and the other a vision of hell? I believe the answer is found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It seems obvious to me. The Christian can face death with the calm assurance that everything’s going to be all right. The Lord has prepared a place for us. He is going to wipe away every tear from our eyes. We are entering into the rest he has promised, but for the non-Christian death brings horror. You are crossing over into an eternity separated from God—an eternity of pain and misery. An eternity banished from God’s presence, and ushered into the presence of Satan and his demons. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Ghosts,” you might remember the scene where the evil person dies and the black ghouls come to take the person away. I vividly remember the ear piercing screams which made me squirm in my seat and the sight of black demons coming up out of the earth and taking this man away. I remember, because it frightened me very much. Now, I certainly don’t recommend building your theology on what we see in the movies, but I was glad to see the portrayal of the consequences of an evil life as depicted in this film. I once called a local funeral home and tried to convince them to loan me a casket to use as a backdrop for a sermon I was planning on death, but I couldn’t talk them into it. However, when I told the lady at the funeral home why I wanted the casket she said something I thought was very profound. She said, "Some people are so afraid of dying that they forget to live!” So, let me ask you a question, “Are you afraid of dying?” Of course, Satan will try to convince you that you have nothing to worry about. He will try to deceive you and tell you that you’ve got plenty of time. Hell is going to just be one big party. But don’t believe it. I believe in a literal hell and hell is a horrible place! Hell is described in the Bible as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place where the worm does not die, a terrible and horrific place where you do not want to go, where you do not want a loved one to go, a place where you do not want anyone you even remotely care about to go. There is a great deal of interest these days in the afterlife and what happens when we die. Randy Alcorn’s book, Heaven, has been very popular, or maybe you’ve read the fascinating book by Erwin Lutzer titled, One Minute After You Die. I found both of these books to be quite intriguing, but questions about death and what happens when we die are as old as life itself. In the book of Job, which many believe to be one of the oldest books in the Bible, Job asks a thought- provoking question in Job 14:14. He asks, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” Job 14:14 This is a good question. What do you think? If a man dies, will he live again? In other words, what is the appropriate Christian response to death? Paul addresses this topic in 1 Corinthians 15 by asking two key questions. He asks, 1. “O, Death, where is your victory?” 2. “O, Death, where is your sting?”