Jump Start # 1768

Job 14:14 “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait unit my change comes.”

 Job 14 presents both a powerful statement and a great question, all in one chapter. The chapter begins with, “Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil.” That’s the powerful statement. Short-lived is enough to cause anxiety, but the short time is filled with turmoil or trouble. Job certainly understood that. His children lived short. They all died one day. His days were filled with trouble. He was robbed. He was heart broken. He lost his health. He lost the support of his wife. His friends turned on him. He was hurting about every way a person could hurt—physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Then, a few verses later, our verse today, comes the great question. Job asks, “If a man dies will he live again?” Job wasn’t thinking about reincarnation. That thought isn’t found in the Bible. If a person lives a short time, is that it? You get in the last inning of the game and that’s it? On top of that, it’s not only short, but it’s filled with turmoil, trouble and pain. What’s the point of all of that?

Job’s question is a great one for our times. If a man dies, does he live again? If the answer was “No,” then grab all you can from this life and have as much fun as you can. If that be the case, then who cares about rules, laws and boundaries of life. Do what you want, as you want. Lie, cheat and steal was a name of a board game I played a long time ago. I don’t remember the game, but I can’t forget that title, “Lie, cheat and steal.” That might as well be the theme song of life if man does not live again. If man does not live again, then when a person dies, that’s it. There’s no seeing them again. There is no standing before God. There is no accountability, judgment, Heaven or Hell. An old beer commercial showed two guys fishing from a small boat and one says to the other, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” That’s true, if man doesn’t live again. For most of us, our lives have been lived as losers. We slave ourselves to our jobs to make a little money so we can take a week vacation and spend most of our time tired, worried and stressed. If this is it, we are missing out.

But Job’s question is answered over and over in the Bible. Solomon answers it in Ecclesiastes when he says, “yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.” There is a judgment. There is something yet to come. David answered it when he longed to “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Jesus talked about this often and His resurrection proved that man lives after he dies. Death isn’t the end. Eternal life is a promise for those who believe and follow Christ. The graves shall open and all come forth, is what we read in John. Eternal life and eternal destruction—but it’s eternal.

There are a few things we gather from that thought:

First, there is no end to us. Our journey here on this planet will end but we are not finished. We simply switch locations or rooms. We go from the physical world to the spiritual world. The account of the rich man and Lazarus pulls the curtain back and we get to see what no one else does. For most people, they would say that the rich man was buried high on the hill in a nice spot. Lazarus was likely dumped in a paupers grave. But they weren’t there. Their bodies were, but they weren’t. The curtain is pulled and we see Lazarus in comfort in Paradise. We see the rich man begging in agony in the flames of pain. They knew. They remembered. There was feelings, desire and communication. The rich man recognized Lazarus. Does a man live after he dies? These two both tell us “Yes.”

Second, this tells us that death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to us. Death is sad. Death leads to separation. Death brings tears and a broken heart. But death isn’t the end. Take the rich man in Luke 16. He died. After death he was worse off. He had no comfort and he had no one to help him. He had no options. He couldn’t change his condition. He begged for the first time in his life. No one came running to his aid. When a person is not thinking right and they consider taking their life, often to end the agony that they are in, they don’t realize that death doesn’t end your life. You move from here, where there are options, hope and chances to a place where those things are not available. Where a person goes after death is based upon what they did while they were alive. Faith, dedication, obedience to Christ will lead to living on with the Lord in comfort. Ignoring God and doing what we want, will find us keeping company with the rich man in misery.

Third, where we go and what happens to us after we die, are choices that are left up to us. God doesn’t make that decision, we do. God wants us to be with Him. God wants us to live in Heaven. God wants us to enjoy His home. He wants His home to be our Home, forever. God gives us every reason why we should want that. God warns us what happens if we don’t follow Him. God gives us evidence, proof and a solid path that one can’t miss. God allows us to be part of His family, the church. There we find great encouragement and help. They are not perfect people, but they are striving to walk with the Lord. They understand grace and forgiveness. They know the value of worship and studying God’s word. They want to live with God. But the choice is ours. God won’t force us to be with Him. God won’t force us to bow to Him. God won’t take us kicking and screaming to Heaven. If we don’t want Him, then He’ll let us go. The father allowed the prodigal to leave and go to the far country. He didn’t lock the door and keep him from going. He didn’t stand in the door way and declare, “You’ll have to get through me, first.” He let him go. In the far country, the prodigal had a blast until the money ran out, and there was a famine. Now, no one was there to help him. He was allowed to come home. Some do that. God forgives. Some never do. They stay with the pigs the rest of their life. It’s a choice. The cold reality is that God sends no one to Hell. They choose that for themselves when they turn their back on Him.

The amazing thing is that you and I can go to Heaven. There’s lots of places we can’t go. I’ve been to ballgames and I couldn’t get on the field, sit on the bench or be with the players. Not allowed. I went to the White House years ago. I tried to talk a secret service man into going upstairs to the Oval Office. He didn’t even smile. He said, “Sir, I’ve never been upstairs.” I couldn’t go. I have been to many hospitals and have passed the doors that lead to the surgery floor. I couldn’t just walk through those doors, not that I would want to. Not allowed. I was giving some friends a tour of Churchill Downs one day, We were up in “Millionaire’s row” where are the fancy suites are. I was just walking and opening doors and exploring. The next thing I knew I was in the President’s office. I’m certain that I wasn’t supposed to be in there, so we left. Not allowed. But you and I, you and I, CAN go to Heaven. You don’t have to varsity, honor roll, the best of the best. By faith, by commitment, by loving the Lord, you and I can not only go, but we can stay in the most incredible place of all, Heaven. Certainly we are not good enough. Of course, we have messed up many times. But the forgiving blood of Jesus makes all of that possible.

If a man dies, will he live again? The answer is YES. Another question we ought to ask is, “Just where will you live after you die?” The answer is based upon your life. Your choices. Your attitude. Your faith. Your heart. Your behavior. What you have done with Jesus.

There are things that come along in life that sometimes we miss out on. Twice, I had the chance to be in the background of movies. The first one was Hoosiers. It was filmed not far where I lived. But small kids at home and so forth, I didn’t go. Then, recently, there was the movie, “Secretariat”. They needed people to fill the stands. I was gone too much to make that happen. Missed out. Life goes on. No big deal today. But if I miss Heaven, it will plague me for eternity. There won’t be another chance. There won’t be something that is just as good. We won’t say, “No big deal.” It is a huge deal. You simply cannot miss Heaven.

If a man dies, will he live again? Yes.

Roger