Well for me and for some friends of mine who lost a son on this day 5 years ago, the year 2001 was indeed a horrible year. 9-11, business collapses, all kinds of terrible things happened in 2001 for many people. Life changed that year for many and it has never been the same since.
Loss and pain. There is no easy way to describe what took place that year.
I remember the Phone Call. Late in the night. The horror of it all. 5 years ago tonight.
But time heals all wounds, right? No, wounds are wounds. We live with our wounds. We try to recover from out wounds but they are always there. We are never the same. We never go back to what we were before because we are never again who we were.
That night has caused me to think and grieve often. I’ll never be able to forget. It will never be a long lost memory. It is always there somewhere.
But they, the parents, go on. They see life with sadness that is earned by ripping loss. They stand on the pain and move ahead. There is no other option. There is no other comfort.
I can make all the proper ministerial announcements. They all have the effect of either reinforcing or flying in the face of what has already been decided. In the end, all we have is hope. Blessed Hope. That’s what Paul the Apostle called it. The Blessed Hope. Leaving here being there.
Some people have been there and come back to give a report. It makes the transition from time into eternity seem less ominous. I only know this, it’s not your sin that condemns you if you trust Christ, it’s rejecting him that places one in jeopardy. It has much to do with the direction we point are lives, toward him or running from him. Even running can be redeemed if our running is halted by a repentant heart. So with that in mind, I believe I can give a report from the other side.
There was a man by the name of Don Piper. He was killed in a car accident and died. He was dead for an hour and a half. He was prayed back to life. While dead he describes what he saw. He wrote it in a book called, “90 Minutes in Heaven”.
He crashes into a bridge abutment and is killed instantly and the next thing he experienced was
“Joy pulsed thru me as I looked around. I became aware of a crowd of people. They stood in front of a brilliant ornate gate. I didn’t see Jesus but I did see people I had known. I knew instantly I had known all of them and they had all died during my lifetime. The presence of them seemed absolutely natural.
Every person was smiling, shouting and praising God. Although no on said so, I knew they were a celestial welcoming committee. It was as if they had all gathered outside heavens gate waiting for me”.
Don then relates meeting again and seeing many people from his past. Grandparents, friends, teachers. He goes on:
“Everything I experienced was like a first class buffet for the senses. I had never felt such powerful embrace or feasted on such beauty. Heavens light and texture defies early eyes or explanation. Warm radiant light engulfed me. I could hardly grasp the vivid dazzling colors. Every hue and tone surpassed anything I had ever seen.
Everything glowed with intense brightness. As we began to move toward the light everything seems to grow taller. Like a gentle hill that moved upward and never stopped. The light engulfed me and I had the sense I was being ushered into the presence of God. It was a celebration of my senses.
My most vivid memory of heaven is the music. What I heard. I can only describe it as the whoosh of wings. Except I would have to magnify that thousands of times to explain what heaven sounds like. It was the most beautiful and pleasant sound I’ve ever heard. It seemed to go on forever. I was awestruck only wanting to listen. I didn’t hear music, it seemed like I was part of the music—it played in and thru my body. I stood still and felt embraced by the music.
I felt the deepest joy I ever experienced. I wasn’t a participant in the worship but my heart rang out with exuberance for what I was in.
I was home. I was where I belonged. I wanted to be there more than I had ever wanted to be anywhere on earth. Time had slipped away and I was simply present in heaven. All worries, anxieties and concerns vanished. I had no needs and I felt absolutely perfect.”
I lost my parents in a motor vehicle accident when I was 13 years old. I often wondered what they felt, what they experienced as it happened, what it was like.
In reading Don Pipers book maybe I know a little more. It’s available in all bookstores commonly. If you want to get a glimpse of the other side it’s a good read.
So, I would say to my Mom and Dad and Mark, rest in peace. If I understand it they are living in perfect peace and joy over there and it is we who must rest in peace: The peace of God that passes all understanding, guard our hearts and mind from anything that would interrupt our peace even in pain. It’s all in Christ Jesus.
Life goes on with pain until we are perfected over there.
Evenso come Lord Jesus.
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