Something After?

Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 1 Samuel 31:11-12

Grandma passes upstairs in her bedroom and it is time to pitch her decaying old husk out past the wall of the garden behind the house. On the other side of the world, a family takes the body of their departed matriarch and gives it to the lions for disposal. You and I both know that it isn't like that. There may not be a tribe or culture that does not have some sort of death ceremony and a method of keeping or disposing of the body. Here in the west we tend to try to keep the body forever, - embalming, sealed metal casket, concrete vault, etc. - or we burn it up and keep the ashes in a metal urn as if someone might come along in the future and reconstitute (just add water!) Grandma. 

We also get angry over dishonored corpses and punish our soldiers for doing so, much like the Israelites did in Saul's day. The valiant men of Jabesh Gilead traveled all night to retrieve the bodies of Saul and his sons, and then made sure the Philistines could not do further dishonor to those bodies. So, with all of this concern over our dearly departed, are you sure that everyone believes death is the end? It would appear to be a common opinion at the very least that there is something after death. A common opinion sounds very weak of course. Praise God for the many assurances in the Bible that there is indeed much after we depart this tiny slice of eternity. We are keeping the bodies and ashes ready for our Lord Jesus to return! 

Have a great Friday as I help out by talking death this morning,

Bucky