FACING ETERNITY

 FACING ETERNITY

 I have written this article to encourage those who know Jesus to be at peace knowing that beyond the veil of this flesh there is a glorious and wonderful eternity awaiting us.   
My second purpose for this article is to awaken the unbeliever to the realities of the spiritual realm and to fact that each person must face eternity and give an account to God.
What will you hear at your last breath? Jesus said to the repentant thief on a cross beside Him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” To the man who had ignored God, He said, “Fool, this night your soul will be required of you.” One man lifted his eyes into the glory of God’s presence and eternal life. The other was carried into hell and eternal misery.
We must remember that God does not want any to perish, but that all might come to eternal life. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. We can have the peace of God now…AND when we die.  ---Billy Long

“It Did Not Feel Like Death.”
Lonnie, one of my Christian friends, was in a hospital bed and close to death. He could feel himself slipping away and knew he was one moment away from eternity. God’s incomprehensible love and inexpressible peace were so real that he actually wanted to go on and be with the Lord. He very profoundly described his experience in this way: “It did not feel like death.”  He experienced the reality of the Apostle Paul’s word that death has lost its sting, and the grave has lost its victory…and that victory is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
The thing that shone brightest to my friend and other Christian friends who have had similar experiences was the incomprehensible greatness of God's love and the peace that comes with it. That peace can only be found in Jesus Christ.

The Catacombs Tell the Story.
There is a big difference between the Christian and pagan epitaphs found in the catacombs beneath Rome. Will Durant in his volumes on world history gives a vivid account of the difference between the pagan Romans and the persecuted Christians of that era. It was said of Christians that their lives consisted of persecutions above ground and prayers below ground. Here are some very profound quotes from Durant:
“In the catacombs below Rome Christian graves tell the terrible tale. Heads were found severed from the body, ribs and shoulder blades broken, and bones often calcined from fire…But despite the awful story of persecution, note the inscriptions on the Christians’ graves."

CHRISTIAN EPITAPHS:  Peace and Hope
"Here lies Marcia, put to rest in a dream of peace.”

"Lawrence to his sweetest son, borne away of angels."

“Victorious in peace and in Christ.”

“Being called away, he went in peace.”

PAGAN EPITAPHS: Despair and hopelessness
Look at the contrast in these samples of Roman pagan epitaphs:

"Live for the present hour, since we are sure of nothing else."
 
"I lift my hands against the gods who took me away at the age of 20 though I had done no harm."
 
"Once I was not. Now I am not. I know nothing about it.”
 
"Traveler, curse me not as you pass, for I am in darkness and cannot answer."
 
Our Hope in Christ
It is very sad to live without hope and without God in this world, but it is even more grievous to face an everlasting and dark eternity without the Lord. Death is not the end, there is no comfort in the belief of eternal oblivion. It would mean the eternal loss of all we love and would give no hope for anything beyond this current life, which is so short and holds so much suffering. The person who makes a firm commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord is the one who lives with inner peace and faces death with true peace and hope. Jesus said, “He that lives and believes in Me shall never die.” The apostle Paul speaks of a man being caught up into Paradise and hearing inexpressible words, words which a man is not permitted to utter. Eye has not seen, no ear heard, nor has it entered into the hearts of man the things that God has prepared for His people. Jesus Himself told us “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you…I will come again and receive you to Myself.”
 
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."  Romans 5: 1-2.

“Lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner (Christ) has entered for us…”  Hebrews 6: 18-19.
 
VISIT MY BLOG TO READ MORE ARTICLES.   https://blongoutofthebox.blogspot.com

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