Mysty Pfeffer“Moses even indicated in the passage about the burning bush that the dead are raised, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is not God of the dead but of the living, because all are living to Him.”
Luke 20:37-38
Biblegateway.com
Opening My Heart
Lord, what will happen when you open my heart to your all-consuming presence? I see a heart filling with contentment, softening its demeanor, less sarcasm, and increasing mercy. Insults and innuendos are not absorbed into my psyche and mess with my identity because they bounce off your shield of grace.
My focus will change from temporary pleasure to eternal pleasures. The mind once narrow expands its limited thinking beyond this span of time. Your word says you are not the God of the dead but of the living, for all are living to you.
Since Jesus is referring to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob being alive before the Father, the truth of living souls is clear. Their souls remain alive while their bodies await His return and their own new resurrected immortal bodies. Peter, James, and John are amazed by this reality as Jesus opens their eyes during His transfiguration.
He was transformed in front of them, and His face shone like the sun. Even His clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here! If You want, I will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
Mathew 17:2-4
A Sense of My Loved One’s Spirit
Not only are their forefathers speaking with Jesus in person, Peter recognizes who they are without being told. A taste of the afterlife is physically present for Jesus’s inner circle and for all of us who’s hearts are open to receive this truth, for all are living to Him.
Sometimes, I think I get a small taste of my deceased great-grandmother’s spirit when I’m engrossed in my favorite hobbies. As I am digging in the dirt to remove weeds or plant seeds, I feel a connectedness I cannot explain. It’s almost as though she is there with me and I cannot see her.
Grace, fed her ten children from the soil of her garden not far from the ground where I dig. I believe our souls are so enter-twined that her love of the soil and all God provides through the seeds of vegetation are present with me.
The same thing happens to me when I make soap and body creams. I think of Grace, who mom tells me rendered the fat from her hogs every fall to make her own soap.
Walking through the garden, picking vegetables and feeling that connection with her is a great pleasure to me. I see it as a small gift, or part of her she left behind. Her soul is with Jesus, while mine longs for the day of living beyond this place and time in His presence.
Therefore, awaiting Jesus’ return is assuring to we who have lost loved ones. Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, each took their last breath, died, and were gathered to their people (Genesis 25:8, 35:29, 49:29). I get a sense of being reunited with family members spiritually with the last breath, while the body is placed among their remains physically.
Living Forever
Solomon emphasizes the spirit and body separation upon our last breath in his reminiscing, he says,
“… man is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street;
6 before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well; 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 12: 5a-6
So many people confuse Jesus’ words of “falling asleep” as though the soul is asleep when our bodies die. However, his message and the apostle Paul’s do not indicate that concept at all. It helps to listen closely to what Jesus tells his disciples when Lazarus was sick:
Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I’m on My way to wake him up.”
Then the disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”
Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought He was speaking about natural sleep. So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”
John 11:11b-16
He is not referring to sleep as a living state, but of death. Jesus later gives them a glimpse of the resurrection when he brings Lazarus back to life. What sweet assurance we have abundant life here with Christ and eternal life with him in heaven! The apostle Paul’s description of living in God’s presence is something to behold! He says:
Promise of a Future Home Living with God
“Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 And the One who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.
6 So, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight, 8 and we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:4-8
Yes, one day we will be out of these weak, decomposing bodies and at home with the Lord. Our souls live forever and God gives us the opportunity each day to choose where we will spend eternity. Since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever we understand he exists outside of time. My focus on this temporary body might change if I could live in the Spirit more and grasp how limited my body is. Although I am to be a good steward of this tent, use it for his work, and nourish it with his provision in the garden; I am not to be bound by its appearance and desires.
More importantly, my heart will be open to his promise of a future home with him. I may even get to know Grace a little more. Her soul, her essence, her spirit is there with God while the dust of her body awaits the return of Jesus here on earth. She may be getting to know Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in His presence because ALL are living to God.
For More Bold Faith Articles click here:
