The State of Eternity

 

There is a great amount of debate in the world of Christendom regarding the afterlife. Some people believe in “once saved, always saved”, some people believe in earning one’s salvation and some believe that being nice gets one into heaven, while being evil sends one to hell for eternal torture.

But all this completely misses the point of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. Jesus Christ defeated the power of death and restored the relationship between God and men. No one is guaranteed bliss, and no one is guaranteed torment. What we ALL are guaranteed is eternal life. No one matter who you are or what you have done, you will live forever. When all men stand before the judgment seat of Christ at the end of history, we are not being judged for what we’ve done wrong, we are being judged for what we have done right (Revelation 20:11-12).

It is the responsibility of every person to love God and to love their neighbor. This is the criteria for our judgment. We will live forever, temporarily after death in a disembodied state, but after the final judgment we will live in a perfected body that will last forever. That state that we live in will be determined by the shape into which we formed our souls. Was our life built on love or selfishness? The more we strove after being like Christ, the more glorious our bliss will be in the presence of God. Those who only sought after pleasing themselves and being comfortable will not find the holy presence of God a pleasant experience.