Why Bother Living?

Q: Why stay here on earth as humans? If death would bring us closer to God, then why not die? What is the purpose of being here?

A: A subtle distinction; death does not bring us closer to God – resurrection in Christ allows us to come fully into the presence of God. We will see him not like through the bottom of a Coke bottle (or Pepsi bottle…whatever your preference of bottle), but clearly. However, that truth does not render our present life meaningless or useless. I suppose if God only made us to lay around and do nothing on earth, and then we would lay around and do nothing in heaven, this question would be a tougher one to answer. But God has a plan for our life; he has imbued our lives with purpose.

Also, a similar question is something like this, “If running the 100 at the Olympics gets us closer to a gold medal, why practice sprinting on a track?” The answer is preparation for what our ultimate destination is. Just like God was trying to teach the Israelites how to be his people in the desert before they entered the Promised Land, he is teaching us how to be his here and now before we enter eternity.

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What happens at death?

Q: When we die as a faithful Christian, does our spirit go right to heaven? When Jesus comes back, the dead in Christ will rise first so then our earthly body is lifted up?

A: When a follower of Jesus Christ dies, his or her spirit immediately goes to heaven. Paul said, "absent in body, present with the Lord." Jesus promised the thief on the cross who trusted in him, "Today you will be with me in paradise." You are correct in noting that the reference to "the dead in Christ rising first" (found in I Thessalonians 4) is to the resurrection of the body; when the spirits of those in Christ who have died will be clothed with their new bodies, like the body Jesus had after the resurrection. "Soul sleep," the belief that we sleep in the grave until the Day of Judgment, is not a biblical idea and is held by only a small minority of Christians.

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