Childlike Hope

I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

2 Timothy 1:12

A group of nine-year-olds was asked their opinions on the subject of death. Jim said, “When you die, they bury you in the ground and your soul goes to heaven but your body can’t go to heaven because it’s too crowded up there already.” Judy answered, “Only the good people go to heaven. The other people go where it’s hot all the time like in Florida.” John thoughtfully replied, “Maybe I’ll die someday, but I hope I don’t die on my birthday because it’s no fun to celebrate your birthday if you’re dead.” Marsha added, “When you die, you don’t have to do homework in heaven, unless your teacher is there too.”^a

It’s always amusing to find out what children think of serious issues like death. And what does God’s Word have to say about death? For the believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We can have confidence that our loved ones who are believers are immediately taken into the presence of God when their spirit leaves this earth. And that simple truth, that hope that comes from our Maker, can bring a childlike smile to the face of even the most mature.

Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.

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