Made for another world

C. S. Lewis once said, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world (something supernatural and eternal).”

When I was growing up, the concept of life after death was kind of a given. Most people believed in an afterlife, even if they didn’t believe in heaven as taught in Scripture. The idea that when we die we just cease to exist was not popular. Somewhere along the way, probably when our country became post-Christian in its morals and belief systems, the idea of simply ceasing to exist once we died gained acceptance.

Several years ago my husband golfed with a neighbor who held this view. He believed that when he died it would be like going to sleep and never waking up. He would cease to know anything. This life was all there was. What hope is there in that thinking?

We don’t like to talk about death much, that’s true. It’s far easier to distract ourselves with things in this world, than it is to consider whether there might truly be life beyond.

C. S. Lewis believed there was. And of course, the Bible tells us there is. Jesus spoke of the future far more than He did of life on earth. He preached repentance because the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

I know it is very easy and tempting for us to focus on only the here and now. We live in a world that tells us to reach for the top. He who dies with the most toys wins. Success is measured by how much money we earn or how many goals we’ve achieved. If we are altruistic, success might be measured by how much good we did in our lives to help others or help save future generations. And those things have their place.

But what if we truly were made for another world? What if we have an eternal soul that lives on past this life? What if the future is eternal, never ending, and our souls go on forever and ever…somewhere? Wouldn’t we want to know where?

Jesus talked a lot about heaven. After all, He came to earth from heaven, so He was well aware of what the kingdom of heaven was like. And He gave the people of His day a lot of examples to help explain it. He told them who would be there and how to enter, but when they wouldn’t listen to plain speech and kept questioning His motives, asking for a sign, He reverted to teaching through stories and metaphors.

He described the kingdom of heaven as a pearl of great price…good seed planted in good soil…good fish caught in a net…hidden treasure found in the ground…and something little children easily gained because of their honest faith in Him.

He talked a lot about heaven because when God created people to be His image bearers, He made us with eternal souls. We were not meant to die. Sin changed all of that. But sin didn’t take away our eternal souls. We still live forever. The question is where?

God says there is a place He has prepared for those who believe in His Son, Jesus, the Redeemer, the Messiah. And there is a place for the devil and his demons. People were never meant to join the devil in that place, but it does exist. Our souls will end up in one place or the other based on our choice. No one will ever go to hell that doesn’t ultimately choose to be there.

We aren’t made for hell. We are made for eternity in heaven with God. But…God won’t force us to want Him. We can’t make people want us, love us, or even like us. God won’t make us want Him, love Him, or even like HIm.

But He wants us to want Him. He wants every one of us to love and be with Him forever. He’s not willing that anyone should perish. He doesn’t want us to choose eternity away from Him. We can’t understand it here, but the absence of God is hell. What that experience will be like is anything but pleasant. There is no joy or peace or love there.

We were made for another world and that world was to be with God. Jesus was named Emmanuel, God with us. Why? Because God has always wanted to be with the people He created. They just didn’t always want Him.

It isn’t fun to think about coming to the end of life here on earth. No one likes to talk about death. The older I get though, the more I realize that we have to plan for it, like it or not, because we all face it one day. Some sooner than later.

When that day comes, and we live on eternally somewhere, where will you want to be? I hope it’s with Jesus in the kingdom of heaven. It will mean sacrifice now. Faith in Him now. And life won’t necessarily be easier just because we’re His. But it will be our best life one day. When we find all of our satisfaction in Him and when we finally see His face, we will realize that nothing on earth ever compared to Him.

~Selah