James H. Cagle
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Death is not the end of life. Death is that event that ushers us into another condition of existence with activities we’ll experience for eternity.
In the afterlife there is activity, and lots of it. Not the kind of activity many think of in the afterlife. But the afterlife is teaming with activity by those who are there.
There are only two places to go after we die, Heaven or Hell.
Those who believe there will be activity in the afterlife beyond the grave do not always agree to the same activity the Bible says will be there.
I was told by one I was witnessing to that, “In Hell I will get even with all those who did me wrong in this life.” No such activity is taking place in Hell. No one is getting even with anyone and getting revenge. Job said that “There the wicked cease from troubling” (Job 3: 17).Others think Hell is a “fool’s paradise” where men and women can go on enjoying the pleasures of sin without any reminder of God or Truth. Some say the dead are actually voting in our elections. Some say the dead are haunting the living. The Bible says, “Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” (Ecc.9:6)
Then, of course, there’s the belief that the Christian will do nothing with all their days in Heaven but sit on a fluffy cloud and play a harp. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The only activity in Hell will be the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth by those who are tormented in the flames of Hell. There will be a lot of mental activity as well in Hell. Its inhabitants will throughout eternity remember the many times they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and rejected His offer of love, forgiveness and salvation. There will be a passion and desire to do things in Hell but pain and suffering and inactivity prevails.
The activities in Heaven will be on a grand scale. Because we will no longer be inhibited and limited by a mortal body we will be free and empowered to serve God in a way we could only dream of before. Our lives in Heaven will be filled with worship and praise for the One Who delivered us from the bondage, condemnation, and guilt of sin, but we will also want to serve Him that saved us.
God created us for His glory and service. He gave us capacities that can only be fully developed and our lives fulfilled as those capabilities are enhanced by grace and used in accordance with God’s will. Jesus did teach through a parable that if we’re faithful in our work and service for God here then we will have greater responsibilities in the Kingdom (Mt. 25:21).
So when we die and our labors are ended here we go to either Hell where all activity is unprofitable or we go to Heaven where all our gifts and talents are used in the task God assigns us through which we have a very purposeful, meaningful, and fulfilled life.
So, after you die, what will be the first thing you do?
