What’s your plan after you die? When faced with this question, most people’s response would be around their end of life plans. The New Zealand government has a website with information about the sorts of things that you need to think about before you die. Some of the things they suggest include the following:

• organise your affairs – having a will, appointing powers of attorney

• planning your funeral – what happens to your body – burial or cremation

I looked and I looked and I couldn’t find any advice on plans for the after life. Of course I didn’t expect to find any advice on life after death on a government website. The Bible however expects us to be planning for life after death.

Easter Sunday Is One Big Reminder That There Is Life After Death

Easter Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. Every year the church sets aside a weekend so Christians can remember, celebrate and reassess our lives to see if we are truly accessing the Resurrected life Christ has made available to us. The weekend has become quite a controversial weekend in the history of humanity, even more so these days. Paul put it this way:

1 Cor 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness

In other words to people who are religious it is offensive. “What? You get forgiven because a man died on the cross for your sins? You don’t have to do anything? No need to follow certain instructions, certain lifestyle, mandatory activities to be saved?” Religion would say – “That’s sacrilege, that’s offensive to think that God has given us a free pass because one man died on the cross for us.”

To the rest of the world it’s foolish nonsense. “A man dies for the sins of the world and God raises him up from the dead on the third day? That’s bogus nonsense”

A stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks.

I’ve been told not to celebrate Easter. They say it’s a pagan festival. “Celebrate passover instead. At least there are certain requirements, protocol and rules that come with that feast. It is more sacred than the frivolous free grace we seem to throw around.” I think Passover is a wonderful celebration especially if you have a Jewish heritage. But Passover is not Easter. Passover recognises the death of a lamb, the sufferings of the past – but has no answer to the hope Christ has given us through His death and resurrection. Easter says the lamb died, rose again and ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father and now gives access to the throne room with open arms. Passover is not Easter.

The world on the other hand tells me forget about Easter. It’s gibberish nonsense just think of fluffy bunnies and chocolate eggs and let the weekend slip by. Both groups want this weekend to go away as fast as possible so that we don’t have to talk about resurrection and life after death. Yet the Easter weekend is the core of the Gospel.

The Easter Weekend is the heart of the Gospel message

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NKJV) For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen…

Christ died for our sins

We need to get this into our thick skulls. I can’t do anything about my sins. You can’t do anything about your sins. That’s why Christ died a brutal death. Christ died for our sins. It isn’t easy for us to accept such a message. Nothing is free. What’s the catch? Where’s the small print? Surely there’s something I must do?

Ok, maybe Christ died for my past sins, cos I didn’t know better. Now that I’m a Christian I must now deal with my sins. I must be held accountable for my current sins and my future sins. The fact of the matter is you can’t. You can try as hard as you want to but you can never overcome sin on your own. Not now not ever. That’s why there are so many Christians living with their sins. We are trying to deal with it ourselves. Christ died for ours sins – period. Our past, our present and our future sins. Christ and only Christ can and has dealt with our sins.

Transformation does not come by our own will power and determination. It is the grace of God that transforms us. Instead of leading a sin focused Christian life, why not focus on Christ and His imputed righteousness in us. Why not put all your effort in activities that keep you in His presence. Stay in His presence. Encounter Him daily and see how He transforms you. Watch how the more you abide in Him and His words – watch how the appetite for sin starts wearing out and the desire for the things of God become more pronounced.

Christ died for our sins – so there is no more chasm between you and God. The way to God is flung wide open. Let’s stop living a sin focused life and start focusing on how we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace” (Heb 4:16). Let this be our daily goal – not just entering into His throne but staying in His throne room every moment of our days on earth. Being “seated with Him in Heavenly realms” (Eph 2:6) is not just how we are now positioned in Christ, it is also how we should perceive who we are in Christ and how we should practice our daily life of faith from that vantage point.

Christ rose again

Not only did Christ die for our sins, He rose again. While Christ’s death dealt a fatal blow to sin and it’s power over our lives, Paul sees Christ’s resurrection as the doorway to living life from an eternal perspective. Chapter fifteen of the first letter to the Corinthians is dedicated to defending the physical resurrection of believers. Christ’s resurrection has implications on death itself.

1 Corinthians 15:16-19 (NKJV) For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Paul is implying that there is a correlation between what you believe about the resurrection of Christ and what you believe about this present life. There were Christians in Paul’s day who were denying the resurrection of the dead. They weren’t questioning Christ’s resurrection but they were saying that our lives end after death. There is no such thing as life after death.

Paul exposes the futility of believing in the resurrection of Christ without believing that His resurrection has altered the way we live our lives in this present life.

(NKJV) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

(NLT) And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

(AMP) If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.

Most Christians live as if this is the only life we are living – 80 years, 90 years however long and we give no thought to what happens after life as we know it ends. We live as if “this is all there is”. Paul is saying if this is it, then Christians are to be the most pitied bunch on planet earth. Imagine Paul living his life the way he did. Preaching the gospel in every city he went to. Experiencing revival as well as riots wherever he went. Beaten, shipwrecked, left as dead, in and out of prison, constant suffering for the sake of the gospel. For what? Merely to effect this present world. If this is it – I can see why he would say we are a people “most miserable and to be pitied.

What’s the point of believing that Christ has risen, if it doesn’t affect us in our daily lives. I want to take the liberty to paraphrase the apostle. Paul is saying that it is a pitiful sight to watch Christians go about their daily lives, living as if this is the only life we are living – not realising that this life on earth is only a brief part of a life that spans for eternity.

THIS IS NOT IT! Death is not the end. So I ask you again, what’s your plan after you die The point I’m trying to make is that everything we do on earth in this present life, should be done with eternity in mind.

Take Jesus for instance. He lived for 33 years. What did He do in that 33 years? Most of those around him were hoping he would topple the Romans. For what? If that’s all Jesus did, six hundred years after Jesus died, Jerusalem was taken by the Sassanid Empire (Iran). Then the Arabs took over, then we had the Crusades, then the Ottoman empire, then the British took over and finally we saw the separation of the West Bank and Israel and the Jews return to what we call Israel in the present day.

If Jesus came and lived “as if life under Roman rule was all there was”, then he should have used his powers to overthrow the Roman Empire. But he didn’t. Jesus didn’t come with a one generation plan. He lived his life on earth with eternity in mind. He didn’t live as if this life is it. He lived to bring the afterlife to the present. He didn’t say one day you will experience the after life. He said NOW you get to taste the after life. So he forgave sins, healed sickness and diseases, cast out demons, raised the dead. He calmed the storm, walked on water to get to distressed disciples, he multiplied food for the hungry. He didn’t come so that the Kingdom of God will come one day – He proclaimed the Kingdom is here!

This is what Paul was trying to say to the church in Corinth.

If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.

A Christian living as if this is all there is – is not living the Christian life at all. If this is all there is – we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied. Why? Because we preach unlimited, borderless, boundless hope but live as if our hope is limited to our present circumstances, in this present life. When we are sick don’t we pray for healing? When in need, don’t we pray for provision? We pray “Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” – that’s boundless hope. That’s hope without limits. In other words we are constantly on a daily basis endeavouring to bring what’s available in the after life to the present life. So if the afterlife doesn’t exist, the entire Christian life is a fraud.

1 Corinthians 15:17 (NKJV) if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile.

Living with Eternity in Mind

So, Christ’s resurrection has life changing implications to a Christian’s way of life in this present life. The resurrection of Christ demands we live our lives with eternity in mind. What do I mean by living with eternity in mind? Let me put it in practical terms. Look at some Scriptures that show people living daily lives with eternity in mind. Listen to the language of resurrection. This is what hope that is not bound by time sounds like. This is how people of God lived life with eternity in mind.

The story of Job – living with suffering and with eternity in mind

The story of Job is a difficult book to read if we do not have a “eternity” worldview. Job himself couldn’t understand how living a righteous and godly life still got him to a place of suffering. He had a bone to pick with God and he was very honest and opinionated with God about it. He had no qualms about letting God know how he felt about the whole situation. At one point he was “threatening” to take God to court but complained that not only was God the only judge of the Supreme Court but He was also the one who legislated the laws. He could see the futility of his exercise but made it very clear how he felt.

No matter what Job was going through both physically and emotionally, it didn’t change the way he perceived his situation. Inspite of his suffering and confusion about his present circumstances, he continued to live with eternity in mind. Listen to the language of eternity.

Job 19:25-27 (NKJV)

For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

That’s what living with eternity looks and sounds like. “No matter what I’m going through right now – this is not it. There is more!” An eternity mindset keeps focus on boundless hope – transcending the present life of suffering into the afterlife of eternal joy in His presence.

The story of David – living with grief and with eternity in mind

In 2 Samuel chapter 12, David is faced with the possibility of losing his first child which he had with Bathsheba. The Bible tells us that he fasted and prayed intensely for his baby but on the seventh day the baby died. Look at David’s response in the midst of his grief:

2 Samuel 12:20-23 (NKJV) So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”

And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

Listen to David’s words in the midst of grief. “Someday I will go to him”. That’s the language of boundless hope. That’s the language of someone living with eternity in mind.

Jesus and the final judgment – living mundane lives with eternity in mind

One more example about living daily lives with eternity in mind. This one is somewhat a “how to” verse – a practical guide on living a life with eternity in mind. Jesus was teaching the listeners about the final judgement and revealed to them what it would look like on judgement day.

Matthew 25:37-40 (NLT) “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

I can imagine the shock in each of their faces.

“What? You mean when I cared enough to make sure my neighbour wasn’t going hungry – that’s still resonating in eternity?”.

“What? When I saw someone needed some extra TLC, I cooked up a feed, went and spent time with them – that’s still resonating in eternity?”

“What? I saw someone without a warm jacket in winter and I had two jackets and gave them one – you are still talking about it here in eternity?”

“What you remember the visits I made to that dear one dying of cancer?”

“What you still remember the time I spent with the brother who was struggling with the stigma of a criminal record and he told me he felt like a normal person when he hung out with me – You still remember that?”

This is what living with eternity in mind looks like on this side of heaven – being there for the poor and the vulnerable, being kind, saying no to racism and any form of bigotry, standing with the oppressed and marginalised – everyday life making small differences to people’s lives – that’s what living with eternity in mind looks like.

I close with Paul’s conclusion in chapter fifteen.

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

So I ask you again – what’s your plan after you die? Here’s something that the government needs to add to their website

INFORMATION YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU DIE:

LIVE YOUR LIFE DAILY WITH ETERNITY IN MIND