Death's Demands and the Mercy That Follows Misery

My father passed away just days ago and like any normal mortal, my mind has turned to reflection. There is sadness in my heart, but interestingly, it is not necessarily because of the death of my father, but rather, it is more so because of the realization that there are those who, in similar circumstances, have no hope and even believe that they will never see their loved one again, that they will never enjoy a more purified communion than they had here on earth. Truly, I fear that others do not fully understand that there is more to life, death and heaven than is purported.

Death is a curious thing. It is tragic, yet peaceful; sudden, yet expected--though it always seems premature. I will not take a stand for any single Christian religion or another--despite my personal belief that there is only one true, comprehensive church in the world--for that is not necessarily my purpose with this blog, but, at the same time, I must promote to some degree a sense of awareness that I believe will, if heeded, lead a man or woman to that religion of truth. For now, however, we should discuss what death is all about and what heaven entails.

Many religious doctrines agree that death came into this world through Adam and Eve when they partook of a forbidden fruit (a fruit that, if you study Jewish tradition, is well-known). The scriptures are silent as to the chemical interactions and specifics of what took place within those two to cause the transformation from an immortal to mortal state. Such silence is necessary due to the fact that if we knew what transpired, wicked men would cause to take place the reverse process in this day and thus destroy the days of repentance and testing; ultimately disrupting the merciful plan God has laid out for us--including the necessity of death.

Death is not what most think it is. If one first understands why it is that mankind has a yearning to seek Deity, i.e. a higher power, death is, in fact, very easy to comprehend and much easier to handle.

The first step in making sense of death is to understand that there was and is a spiritual life before mortal life. A strange concept true, but what seems to correlate fully with why conscious, decision-making, human beings know that there is a God without "scientific" evidence and which makes sense of a Satan--the being who opposes the forces of God and who was never able to make it to the mortal stage of life and thus hates and seeks the destruction of God's children who did so. Such doctrine makes clear sense when considering that God would not create something, i.e. the devil, simply to destroy His own creation, i.e. His children. The devil was created by his own choices and decision to oppose God pre-mortally.

It is this pre-mortal knowledge that allows one to first know why it is that mankind has an innate desire to know and worship Deity and second to consider there is a post-mortal sphere as well. In essence, because we knew Him then, we desire to know Him now. Scriptural promises confirm that the post-mortal sphere will exceed all other realms in joy, happiness, kindness and love. The reason being, those who live such mannerisms on earth, i.e. keep the commandments of God, will be allowed to live together post-mortem, and those who do not, will not. It's quite simple really. This post-mortal realm, however, is what is so terribly confused by religions the world over.

Saturday morning cartoons depict best the situation. Angels are portrayed as having wings, living in the clouds and playing harps. The question I have for whatever religion teaches that doctrine is; how on earth is that more enjoyable than being here on earth where I at least have some dominion over my surroundings and an opportunity to progress? It is so extremely doubtful that God would teach of a world better than this one and simply make us float in clouds and play harps all day. Indeed, that heaven is taughty by men only and has no merit.

A better world, the one spoken of by Christ, would consist of the family unit, make possible an eternal union of man and woman, make extinct the aspect of death, offer a richer, fuller and more mobile body of flesh and bone, greater dominion over one's surroundings and a greater consciousness of reality than the harp-playing, cloud-dwelling circumstance so poorly taught by who knows who.

Indeed, I believe in a viable heaven where men and women walk and talk, travel and converse, build and serve, toil and work, invent and manage, love and live! For if it is by work, struggle, obedience and duties that we perform in life that brings us joy, these things should exist on an even greater scale in the heavenly realm. God did not say this life would be easy, and he says life is not easy. What he does say is that if we take His yoke upon us, life will be easier and thus happier. In His presence then, wherein that yoke is even more accesible, the rewards of similar actions will be even more enjoyable, even heavenly.

Interestingly, for the atheist then, it only makes clearer sense that there is a devil, which means there must be a God, for man can only disbelieve a God if he is prompted by His adversary to believe there isn't one. Yes, there is a great war in heaven; a war being faught for our souls.

Finally, the doctrines and opinions of extremism should be bridled by once again meeting in the middle, the meridian. Middle ground would suggest the intuitive; that we lived with God before this life and due to the lack of a physical body, we needed to come here to be tested and tried on how we will handle a separable spirit and body; to see if we would obey what God teaches. If we do so, we have the opportunity to enjoy a fuller, richer experience after this life with a purified spirit and an inseparable, perfected body. That we all may strive to achieve such an accomplishment is my hope and prayer.