The Opposite

10/06/2007

Sometimes, we get so used to hearing, reading and knowing things, we rarely think of what the opposite of that would be. It always makes me think of the character, George Castanza, on “Seinfeld.” George was always making the wrong decisions, and getting into situations that were unpleasant. So, on one episode, he decided that whatever he would normally do, for example, if his answer would normally be “No,” he would answer, “Yes.” And, his life started to turn around for the better.

If only changing the course of our life was that simple…
If only choosing a better way could really happen by making opposite choices…
What does God’s Word have to say about this?

He will give eternal life to those who persist in doing
what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and
immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his
anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who
refuse to obey the truth and practice evil deeds.
Romans 3:3-8 (NLT)

I was thinking about our decisions in this life, decisions that affect our eternity, when I read this passage from Romans this morning. I was thinking about it because I just finished reading Don Piper’s book, “90 Minutes in Heaven.” It’s a book that tells of one man’s experience after an auto accident where he was pronounced dead and remained dead for 90 minutes, until the prayers of another over his dead body brought him back to this earth. Believe what you will about this, but I have been with my own son—lying next to him as he told me that he saw a light. Phil was “gone” for a bit, and then I saw him return in exasperation—his head went back into his pillow as he took in a deep breath and exclaimed, “Oh, I thought I was finished!! I don’t want to be here anymore! I saw Heaven and it is so beautiful!”

I’m a believer. I not only believe God for this day, I believe Jesus Christ has gone to prepare a place for all of us when we leave this earth, and I believe God sends some back from Heaven to tell us about it! Why? Because it encourages us! It helps us! It gives us hope that all we believe in really exists! God knows how difficult this is for us!

The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies
of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the
dead after Jesus’ resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the
holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.
Matthew 27:51b-53 (NLT)

When our son Phil returned from his glimpse of Heaven, just two days before God actually took him Home to be with Him for all of eternity, I asked Phil some questions. I wish I had asked him more, but it’s probably a miracle that I was able to ask him anything at all considering the very difficult time that was in our lives…our son was leaving us…and very soon.

After Phil saw a light, I remember asking him, “Did you see Jesus?”
Phil answered, “No. But there were a lot of people there.”

Don Piper writes, Joy pulsated through me as I looked around, and at that moment I became aware of a large crowd of people. They stood in front of a brilliant, ornate gate. I have no idea how far away they were, such things as distance didn’t matter. As the crowd rushed toward me, I didn’t see Jesus…

You can imagine as I read this book, how it brought back memories for me of very similar words from Phil…he wasn’t the only one to have experienced this, he’s just probably the closest one to me who ever will.

As I read on, Piper told of a young friend named Mike who had been killed in a car accident at age nineteen. He writes, When I attended his funeral, I wondered if I would ever stop crying. I couldn’t understand why God had taken such a dedicated disciple. Through the years since then, I had never been able to forget the pain and sense of loss…Now I saw Mike in heaven. As he slipped his arm around my shoulder, my pain and grief vanished. Never had I seen Mike smile so brightly. I still didn’t know why, but the joyousness of the place wiped away any questions. Everything felt blissful. Perfect.

Recently I was out of town for a while, and when I returned I went by to see our son, Chris, and his wife, and our two grandchildren. When I entered their home, our grandson, Jackson (age one) saw me and came over, wanting a hug…I picked him up and he laid his head on my shoulder with his arms around me, and he stayed there…and stayed there…and stayed there, for the longest time…so long that I finally went and sat down figuring I would enjoy this embrace for as long as it lasted. My grandson hugged me for at least ten minutes, but probably more like twenty, and this is not an exaggeration. Jack is an active toddler who hardly ever stays still—I don’t know what was going through his little mind— but later as I related this story to a friend, she said, “This is a glimpse of how Phil will hug you when you see him in Heaven.” What a wonderful thought that is for me!! When I arrive in Heaven and Phil slips his arms around me, that joy will wipe away any questions I have!

I remember asking Phil that night in his bed, “What does Heaven look like?” He said, “You know that card in my wallet? It sort of looks like that.” Phil carried a small card in his wallet of Jesus welcoming a young man into Heaven. We used that picture at his memorial service, and it was especially meaningful because the young man from the back looked remarkably like Phil would have looked, had he been in Jesus’ embrace. But, in Phil describing Heaven in that way, I also wondered, with a human mind that will doubt… “Did Heaven look like that because he had seen the picture on the card?” I was reassured again when I read what Don Piper wrote in his description of what he saw:

I paused just outside the gate, and I could see inside. It was like a city with paved streets. To my amazement, they had been constructed of literal gold. If you imagine a street paved with gold bricks, that’s as close as I can come to describing what lay inside the gate…

It makes me wonder now, are the pictures we see of Heaven painted by some who have seen beyond this world? Did Phil describe Heaven as sort of like what he saw on that card because that planted the picture in his mind, or was the picture on the card painted that way because someone had “been there”—although unable to capture the beauty—because as Piper writes, I had never felt such powerful embraces or feasted my eyes on such beauty. Heaven’s light and texture defy earthly eyes or explanation. Warm, radiant light engulfed me. As I looked around, I could hardly grasp the vivid, dazzling colors. Every hue and tone surpassed anything I had ever seen.

Phil was angry when he returned to his sickbed that night…he had a tone to his voice that was rare for our young son. Normally peaceful and happy, despite his long illness, when Phil’s head went back into his pillow as he inhaled back into this life—telling me he didn’t want to be here anymore—I knew something had changed. It no longer mattered to him that he was surrounded by everything he loved in his bedroom, that we were there with him, that his dog would be left behind…he had seen Heaven, and he had felt relief from the heaviness of the long illness that was consuming his body. His peace did start to return when I thanked him for coming back and telling me about Heaven. I told him that God knew I needed that. I think it helped him to know that he had helped me. He loved his mom!

I have known since that day, that Phil is glad to be in Heaven. Sometimes, that thought was the only thought that could comfort me in my grief. The Hope of Heaven has made it possible for me to continue to live on earth without our son. And Piper reminded me of that Hope when he wrote:

I wasn’t conscious of anything I’d left behind and felt no regrets about leaving family or possessions. It was as if God had removed anything negative or worrisome from my consciousness, and I could only rejoice at being together with these wonderful people. They looked exactly as I once knew them—although they were more radiant and joyful than they’d ever been on earth.

Wow! That was why Phil didn’t want to come back here. Even after he had said to me before this Heavenly experience, “Mom, I wish we could just all go together.” Once Phil saw what awaited him, this world no longer held his interest.

Phil and I talked about Heaven a lot, even reading a special book about what to expect during the last few weeks of his life. I once told him, in preparing him for maybe having to leave here without us, “Phil, I promise you that you won’t miss us, although I may have to miss you for the next 40 years.” Through Phil’s glimpse of Heaven and his return to tell me about it, God had showed me ahead of time, he will be happy, he will be fine, he will be with Me. I say “AMEN” to that! It doesn’t mean I don’t miss him every day. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t grieve so deeply in my soul that I thought I might die myself from the pain of having to say “good-bye” to him. But, it does mean that every day I can look forward to seeing Phil again. And it does mean that because Phil shared Heaven with me, I can share it with all of you. Maybe there’s a shred of comfort in that for someone reading this.

Now, what does all this have to do with opposites? Well, it has to do with our choices in this life. Heaven or Hell? Which will it be for us when we leave this earth? Can we choose a better way if we will choose to look to God and believe, instead of looking away in disbelief? That’s what we all must decide while we are still here.

I don’t want to quote all of Don Piper’s book about his 90 minutes in Heaven—maybe you’d like to read about his story for yourself—of his long recovery after his auto accident, and of how God is using his experience to help others. It is a good, fast read, and one that even resembled the journey back from the pain of grief, as he healed from his very broken body. He should not have made it through his accident…in fact, he didn’t, because he starts his book with, I died on January 18, 1989… That’s an interesting start to a Biography! But, in reading it, it also made me wonder, “What would be the opposite of his experience?” There will be those who arrive in Hell instead of Heaven when they leave here…those who have made the opposite choice of Phil, of Don Piper, of those of us still on earth who are believing in the salvation of Jesus Christ, and longing for our own arrival Home! Let’s take a look at the opposite view for a few minutes, of leaving here for Hell, although it may be disturbing…it’s better to be disturbed now rather than regretful for all of eternity!

If like George Castanza, I made an opposite decision in my life to not believe in everything Jesus died to give us, what then? Piper talked about those who welcomed him to Heaven. So, what might the “Welcoming Committee” be like in Hell? What’s just beyond that gate? Although we can’t possibly know the full glory of Heaven while still here on earth, we also can’t possibly fathom the full agony of Hell either…but let’s try for a moment in this fictional story of “my death.”

As an unbeliever, we’ll start where Don Piper’s story began, and go from there. He wrote: I have no recollection of the impact or anything that happened afterward. In one powerful, overwhelming second, I died…

…a cold harsh realization hits me, I think I’ve died…where am I?

“Oh NO!!!” I hear the screams from the large crowd I see ahead of me.

As they move towards me, there’s whispering all around…“Not another poor soul…not another one…please no…”

Familiar faces gather around me. “We led you here,” they say. I realize this is the group of people I knew on earth who agreed with me that only weak fools believe there is a God. There are no hugs from them, no joy in this reunion…just horror on their faces, and the ravages of their life on earth still very evident. It’s beginning to dawn on me…if we’re dead, and we are aware…then there must be an afterlife…and it’s very clear, this is no Heaven… so this must be Hell.

I know I’ve only been here a moment, but it already seems longer than the entire life I had lived on earth. I feel a weight bearing down on me, what is that? I’m not sure…could doom weigh this heavy? It feels sort of familiar, but much worse than anything I’ve ever experienced.

I try to look around, but it is so dark. There’s a large gate off in the distance, and although it seems nothing could be darker than where I am, there are darker shadows still that seem to shift all around me. The gate ahead leads into an even greater darkness, and I know that I must go there. I am drawn forward, but my feet feel like they are in wet cement…and the shifting shadows fill me with fear. There seems to be nothing but total, complete, absolute dread and misery in me and all around me—my soul is on fire with emptiness…I am hungry and thirsty, but it is not for food, but for love…any sense of goodness or comfort is gone…any sliver of hope is nonexistent.

“You too…,” the crowd around me says impatiently… “we thought maybe you would change your mind while you still had time”…it seems they loathe my being here. They tell me, “There’s no way to get a message back to anyone still living, it isn’t allowed.” There is frustration, confusion, and chaos…everyone, including me, seems lost. I try to make some sense of this…

I tell them that I vaguely remember hearing a story about a rich man and beggar…I had thought it was some sort of fairytale being used to scare people towards believing in God. The story was told of a man being in torment, so thirsty, just wanting someone to give him a bit of water…but there was a huge chasm and no one could cross over it. He wanted to go back and warn his brothers, so they didn’t have to go to the place of torment…before it was too late…. (Luke 16)

They scream at me, “There’s no way back!”

I wonder, “How long have they been here?” I am afraid to ask.

They seem disinterested in me now…distracted…looking for something, but not knowing quite what…they begin to lament past decisions made while they lived… “We thought Hell was what we experienced on earth…it didn’t compare to this place. We were so wrong. God was there, He was everywhere…He was trying to tell us about this place, but more importantly, about a better place….God is no longer with us…we are alone here…completely, absolutely, forever…” Their voices sound hopeless, frightened, broken…people wander around aimlessly… This isn’t the “party” we all thought it would be.

I hear a terrible noise, “What is that?” I ask them. “It seems to be everywhere!”

“That’s the weeping and gnashing of teeth,” someone yells. “It goes on constantly here! Even outside of Darkness Gate, we hear it. The sound never goes away.”

“What’s Darkness Gate?” I wondered, and finally asked.

“That gate directly ahead,” they answer in irritated tones. “All who arrive here must pass through that gate for judgment and punishment.”

Never in all my worst days on earth have I felt so horrified, so scared, so alone…is this really happening? Even those I once knew, who are here, seem to not care about me. And now it sounds like the stories I once heard about eternal punishment are really true… I had been too stubborn to listen, to care, it all sounded like crazy talk…I thought it was nonsense… I thought it was just a way to make me behave, to steal my fun, to put limits on the pleasures available to me on earth. I remember thinking, if I can’t see it, it can’t be true…but I couldn’t see this either, and it is true to me now. What have I missed?
(Romans 2)

I try to remember what was promised to those who would believe, I can’t remember much except for some sort of forgiveness having to do with Jesus…why had I always chosen to go my own way instead of giving Him a chance? Why hadn’t I tired to get to know the One who only wanted to save me from all of this? I am filled with regret, and it seems to fuel the fire that rages in my gut.

My life had been so fleeting and what stretches before me now will be forever…and ever…and ever…and ever…and ever…and ever……………

I hear some words…what are they?…I can barely make them out…who is talking? Is someone praying?…it seems so faint at first, but then it starts to grow louder… “…help her Lord, I don’t know her, I don’t know what she believes, but if she doesn’t know You, give her the chance to know You before her final day on earth. Draw her to You, Lord, restore her back to health if she is not with You in Heaven…bring her back if darkness surrounds her, bring her into Your glorious light…let her know of Your ways, Your love, Your forgiveness…give her another chance…”

I suddenly breathe in…my eyes open, not only to the stranger kneeling over me in prayer, but also to the second chance I am being given…a chance to make some different choices in my life, some opposite choices, I have to search for Jesus…I have to see if I can find Him…I’m not sure about anything except that I never want to go back to the place I’ve just come from…I’m ready to start asking God about His way, and His Truth…

—The Beginning—

This is a fictional story. This never happened to me, and I pray it never happens to anyone else either! We can’t know all that Hell will hold, but we should be aware that Hell is real, just as Heaven is real. We should be aware that there are spiritual battles going on, and that the things we fight against are not just flesh and blood, but wars in the Heavens for our eternal souls! And God is on our side!! The enemy, Satan, is NOT!! God is for us, not against us, and our responsibility is to choose for Him, not against Him!

There is a song by John Lennon that goes like this:

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

This is a scary song! Not because the music is not beautiful, because it is. The music is very engaging, but these are scary words!! If we spend our lives imagining that heaven doesn’t exist, and there’s no hell waiting, we’re not living in a dream world, we’re living in ignorance! We’ll be waking up to a nightmare when our time on earth is finished! There is no hope in these words! If we’re living for today, we’re in sorry shape!! We need to do the opposite, and live for eternity, because eternity is what makes sense out of why we’re even here on earth in the first place!

Have you ever wondered why you’re here? I sure have! We can know! Because God created us to have a relationship with Him! He is a relational God! He loves us! We’re His children, and He longs for us to love Him back! It is our choice! If we don’t already love God on this day, let’s try doing the opposite for a while and see what happens! If we seek Him we will find Him.

I’ll finish today with a quote from Oswald Chambers. He is one of my favorite men of God, and I look forward to meeting him one day in Heaven! He died in 1914 at the age of 42 and his wife put together a devotional book of his writings called, “My Utmost For His Highest.” It is profound!

From October 5th:

The nature of sin is not immorality and wrong-doing, but the nature of self-realization which leads us to say, I am my own god… …Condemnation comes when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this heredity of sin, and yet I refuse to let Him do so. From that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation. “This is the condemnation [and the critical moment], that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light…” (John 3:19).

Our son Phil saw the light, in a miraculous way, shortly before he left this earth. Once he had a glimpse of Heaven, he wanted to stay there. Was it hard for us to let him go? Beyond a shadow of any doubt, it has been the hardest thing we have ever had to do!! There is only one way to truly find comfort while living in the missing of him—and it’s the opposite of the world’s way—it is by believing in Jesus Christ and all He died to give us. It is by believing that we will all be together again one day.

After Don Piper experienced Heaven, he finishes his book by saying, People in heaven simply don’t have an awareness of who is not there. They do know who is coming.

Phil knows we’re coming, and I can’t wait to get that long-awaited, long-lasting, all-comforting hug from our precious son!! He won’t have missed us, but we surely are missing him!

Thank you Jesus for the Hope You left us with when You ascended back into Heaven!! Help us in our unbelief, help us to believe, and then help us to help others believe!

Jesus came to save us. Will we say, “Yes” to Him instead of, “No”?

For since our friendship with God was restored
by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies,
we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
Romans 5:10 (NLT)

Until we meet again,
Diane