This was shared at GriefShare not that long ago, and Jeff’s sister, Abby, read it at the cemetery for all of us the other day. It’s comforting, and I wanted to dig in, read the scriptures, and ponder them for myself. If you have any thoughts on these 6 statements, I would love to hear them. I know none of us are Bible Scholars, at least I don’t think I have any in this group, but it’s good to ponder the Word and discuss his Truths with each other.
**Angels usher your soul to Heaven.**
Luke 16:22 says, “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried,”
This verse is from the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. This parable warns against heartlessness and selfishness. Lazarus was carried by the angels to Heaven, but the rich man was buried and went to the place of the dead (Hell). His sin wasn’t that he had money. His sin was that he didn’t share and help others who were in need. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary says “Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man was his providing for himself only.” I’m so thankful that Jeff was a generous man with a big heart. He was frugal, and he didn’t love to spend money, but he was still generous with what he had. And he most definitely was not heartless!
**You immediately enter God’s presence.**
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 says, “So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.”
So, while we are here on Earth in our bodies, we are away from the Lord. When we shed our bodies, we are with the Lord. Love that! Love knowing that it is immediate.
**You are conscious, in command of your thinking, feeling, speech, and memories.**
Luke 16:19-31 says, “Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’ “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’ “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’ “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
As you can see, we are back at the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. This parable is such a heavy warning. Like I said earlier, I am thankful that Jeff was kind and giving. Reading this though is a huge reminder to me. I need to be sure that I am being kind and giving of what I have. That doesn’t always need to be money in my opinion. Obviously, this parable is touching on money. Quite honestly, I don’t have much money at this point in my life, and that is okay. I have many other resources that I can give...time, energy, skills, a listening ear. I am going to sincerely make an effort to be more aware of my behaviors because, let’s be honest, when I leave my body and become conscious, I want to find myself in Heaven.
**You participate in magnificent worship with angels and believers before the throne of God and Christ.**
Revelation 4-5---I really wanted to put all of the scriptures down, but these two chapters are a little long. Please, if you want to read them for yourself, click right here.
While reading these two chapters, I was able to sort of envision what it must have been like for those I love that have gone to Heaven. I doubt these two chapters even do justice to what it will be like for us. Magnificent indeed!
**You are aware to some degree of activities and events on Earth.**
Revelation 6:9-10 says, “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Yes, this verse does show that they are aware, but I think the key word is “to some degree.” I’m no Bible scholar. I don’t even play one on TV. But seriously, I think the Bible doesn’t fully explain Heaven much, including what those there know or don’t know, because we here on Earth will never be able to wrap our minds around the truth. I think our brains are just too limited, too bound to Earth because we haven’t shed our bodies, to ever fully understand Heaven.
**You will recognize and communicate with believers who preceded you to Heaven.**
Luke 9:28-36 says, “Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.”
I love that we will recognize and talk with those who went to Heaven before us. I like to think that when Jeff entered Heaven it wasn’t long before he was greeted by his grandfathers, grandmothers, other family members, my father, and my family that knew him and loved him.
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