GOD OF THE LIVING

Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.”
Luke 20:38

This statement wraps up Jesus’ response to an earlier question from the Sadducees. This group of supposedly intellectuals did not believe in the resurrection and asked Jesus a question in an attempt to trick Him. His closing comment in this verse speaks not of physical life and death but of spiritual life.

He explains in the previous verse “But the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” That statement implies that although these three men were physically dead when Moses spoke, they were still spiritually alive. Physical death does not mark the end of our existence, but it does mark the ending point of our ability to decide whether we will spend eternity in heaven with God or in the torment of hell without Him.

I’m reminded of the statement in Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” Our physical death is viewed completely different from God’s eternal perspective than it is from our earthly point of view. When the Christian dies physically, he/she enters into an even more enhanced relationship with God. That is why Christians don’t mourn the way non-Christians do. We have a hope that the non-Christian world cannot comprehend. We are saddened because our loved ones die, but are comforted with the fact that they remain spiritually alive and if we have trusted Jesus as our Savior we will one day join them in heaven.

It appears to me that passing into eternity frees one from all the physical and mental problems of life here on earth. We shed the ravages of sin. I believe our knowledge of and relationship with God increases dramatically at that point. I believe that is why Paul said in Philippians 1:21 “for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

As we face the physical death of those we love who are Christians we can be comforted and assured by the fact that our separation is only temporary because one day we will all be united in heaven since we each have trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior.