Faith invites us to trust God even if we cannot yet view the evidence or the outcome. Nowhere is this invitation more important than when we look ahead to our own deaths.
Here is an experience that many of us have had. The night is dark and stormy, and the power goes out in your house. The circuit box is downstairs in the back corner of the basement. You believe you know the way, but there may be obstacles in your path. As you descend the cellar steps, you try to map it out in your mind. Where did I leave that box of dishes for the next yard sale? Is that old bicycle still sitting in the middle of the room? That old lawn furniture — where was it left after it was brought inside?
Taking one more careful step, you think how helpful it would be to have a flashlight. You could see where you are going and make your way to reset the power, but it is too dark even to locate the flashlight. You make your way forward without seeing clearly.
Isn’t the life of faith so often like this? We have heard the promises of God, but we are still walking in the dark. We know the virtues of faith, hope and love are real, yet they are frequently out of sight. Someone once named them as “the great invisibles,” suggesting they are present but not always obvious. We declare that all sin is forgiven, yet people still sin. We affirm Christ is saving the world, but much of what we see does not seem to have been rescued. Inevitably we must claim to believe and live as we have been taught, but the way is not clear. We are walking in the dark.
The greatest “invisible” is death, specifically what happens after we die. Do we rest with our ancestors, like the prophet Samuel?1 Do we descend to the mythical Sheol, the mythological world of the dead?2 Do we wish to transport quickly to the paradise which Jesus promised to the repentant thief on a nearby cross?3 Or might we have to await the final day of resurrection when all the dead are raised and judged?4 All these scenarios are mentioned in the Bible. So, what is going to happen when we die?
A death like Christ’s
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