All of us who struggle with our faith journey have one question in common. What, if anything, lies beyond death’s door? That question, and the answer, are the foundation of our need to embrace our faith.
Perhaps nothing in our existence has a greater impact on how we live our lives. We grow up gradually recognizing that none of us lives forever. We come to accept that reality, but we are faced with the challenge of imagining the possibility that we will just cease to exist. As a self-aware being, we find it difficult to conceive of that moment when our self-awareness turns off like a light switch. It is equally difficult to imagine that all our life experiences, all our memories, all our hopes and dreams are wiped out of existence.
Our faith is the only hope of our continuing existence.
We all know that, at some point, the body we inhabit will cease to function. Somehow, we instinctively know that our physical body is merely a vehicle to carry us through an earthly journey. It is that same instinct that drives us to seek the path that ensures our continuing existence, even if that existence is in another form or locale.
Our faith is both the path and the guidebook that will take us into that next realm.
But, it is the definitions of the existence beyond death’s door that has become the standard that dictates human behavior. When faced with the possibility of eternal suffering or eternal joy, we develop a set of behaviors that have served as the foundation of our laws and morals. The Ten Commandments, found in the Bible, are essentially the bedrock of all acceptable standards of human behavior.
But, in a world founded on logic, we must ask – “where is the proof of existence after death?”
At that point, we need to set aside our Bibles long enough to apply our logic to the question. And we find that the evidence is all around us if we focus and pay attention.
Yes, we are handicapped by the limits of our five senses, and that may be why we have difficulty imagining an existence beyond death. Perhaps we need to recognize and accept the hints that are provided to us.
Our human history is filled with tales of ghosts, spirits, visions, and premonitions. Advances in communication have allowed us to share the moment when someone passes through that door and returns, many with a profound message for the living. Most of these events are a peek thought the crack in the doorway before the door slams shut again. It seems that we are incapable of maintaining any continuing connection with the world beyond that door for any more than a brief glimpse.
But perhaps that is enough. Perhaps those hints of what is to come are all we need to merge our logic with the faith we need to complete our journey.