If Christians Believe

 

 

If Christians believe

What they say they believe,

Then, when death approaches,

They should be relieved.

 

There should be rejoicing

Rather than solemnity

And the bombarding of heaven

For added longevity.

 

To see the Saviour’s face

Should be their avowed aim;

To see the one who died for them

As they undeniably claim.

 

Instead, they try to prolong

Their departure from here

Requesting from fellow believers

Much fasting and prayer. 

 

 

 

If they go straight to heaven

The moment they die,

Then, why so dejected and morose?

Please tell me why?

 

Absent from the body

Is to be present with the Lord,

If death facilitates this gateway

Why death do they abhor?

 

Could there be doubts?

Lingering doubts for example

That plague the Christian’s mind

Just like other people?

 

I must confess

That I am not at all sure

About what happens after we die,

At least, not any more.

 

I used to think I did

Until just a few years ago

And while I used to preach about it,

I truly didn’t know.

 

Let me emphatically say

I am no less a believer,

Jesus is the fact I will never deny

As my eternal Saviour.

 

I am cool with my demise

Though it’s not something I relish,

Death for me is not a desire

Or an eagerly awaited wish.

 

Unlike my fellow believers

I do have lingering doubts,

But I do know most assuredly

Death is not the final bout.

 

 

There is life beyond death

And this I most definitely know

For when Jesus rose triumphantly

He proved it to be so.

 

I may not know what happens

Immediately after death

But both here and in the hereafter,

In my Saviour I’ll rest.

 

I have nothing to prove

For Jesus has proved it all

And I shall be eternally grateful

Having answered his call.

 

 

Why pray to live on here

If to heaven we immediately go

With death being the gateway?

I want to know.

 

And why all the sadness

That accompanies death

If immediately on our passing,

We will enter our rest?

 

It baffles me, to say the least,

And maybe it baffles you too

But I take comfort in what Jesus said

And I trust so do you.

How and when this will roll out

I cannot exactly say

But for all that trust in Christ

It will happen one day.

 

Stewart Russell © May 14, 2024