Seeing the Value of Life After a Death

Introduction

When I read Bible passages about the Israelites in exile, longing for their home and trying to understand who they are in a world that does not value them or reflect their faith (and sometimes outright attacks it, as we see throughout the books of Daniel and Esther), I can relate very deeply. I also feel like I am in exile because I have friends and family who are already enjoying the ultimate Promised Land: Heaven. 

It’s important to learn about what our loved one’s life and our own lives will be like in Heaven, but it’s also important to know why we are not there yet.

I wanted to do an article about what our role is down here and why we still are on this Earth if Heaven is our home because it’s really hard not to get impatient when your family is separated. You feel the hope of grief in your life, you experience pain, sorrow, and sin like everyone does each day whether they recognize it as that or not, and you simply long to see God face to face and reunite with everyone you miss.

As verses like Philippians 3:20 point out (“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.”, NLT), we are meant to long for Heaven. This is natural and a gift from God, but our lives here are also gifts from God, as hard as it is to believe that in our worst moments.

When Life Feels Like the Israelite Exile

The things God told people through His prophets before exile and during it are such profound messages for us today about keeping holy in impure culture, repenting from the sins we all have individually and collectively, and of course, what we’re supposed to be doing in this world right now.

To give you a little historical context before diving into Jeremiah 29 (made famous by verse 11), the Israelite exile was devastating. At the time, the kingdom of Judah (The tribal split, where the other ten tribes split away from David’s family’s rule occurred a few centuries earlier. The tribe of Judah and Benjamin were the only two that stayed.) consisted of two tribes who had been persistently practicing idolatry as a country for about a thousand years in God’s Temple where they were supposed to worship Him alone. Eventually, after a lot of warnings through prophets, God had them face a historical crisis so that they would return to Him. Essentially, the people of Judah saw their homes destroyed, the Temple burned, and many of their leaders were taken as captives to Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah wrote these leaders a letter to help them understand what God wanted them to do with their lives now that they could not politically lead the country, which is where they had spent their time and placed their identities.

I think the wisdom in this passage is important for anyone who feels a hole in their time and their lives in general because you’re missing a loved one:

4 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 

5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 

6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 

7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

8 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, 

9 because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord.

10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 

12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 

13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 

14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” 

(Jeremiah 29:4-14, NLT)

Planning for the Future 

5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 

6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 

7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

(Jeremiah 29:5-7)

Essentially, there are so many everyday tasks in this passage. All of us are alive and breathing for a reason. We have a future here and should plan for it, whether this means having random future hopes for your life as an adult in terms of having a family or practically planning what you will do in the coming summer or next week. God knows exactly the time and He tells everyone who is waiting that the time is not yet and we have work to do here (I’ll get to what work later in this article.).

When the future seems bleak, it may be helpful to start a list of dreams and hopes you do have for the future to add to on those days when you do feel joy. Life may not be good at the moment, but it is still a gift.

Resist & Stand Against Temptation

“8 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, 

9 because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord.”

(Jeremiah 29:8-9)

Bible scholars interpret the ‘prophets’ and ‘fortune-tellers’ as people who individuals paid to tell them the future. God’s prophets generally went unpaid, so these people (who had not received messages from God) were telling their clients what they wanted to hear, that they would get back to their land (out of suffering and into wealth and complete happiness soon).

Do not believe the lie that you are alone. Do not believe the lie that God doesn’t have a plan for your life. The Enemy may try to tell you a lot of things, like ‘you are not loved’, ‘you have no purpose’, ‘you are completely alone,’ etc.. Scripture says differently (See footnote for an incomplete list of scripture passages that talk about these topics.) and God is the one who defines truth, so you can define yourself and your life by what He says instead of deception. 

“10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.”

(Jeremiah 29:10)

In our lives today, this world may feel like Babylon, a place we have to live that we know is not home. It is easy to feel alone and empty. We are surrounded by evil, suffering, negative thoughts, impure images, etc. wherever we go. As Christians, it is our duty to God to keep ourselves pure for His glory by not following the worldly ways, but as we all know well, this doesn’t mean we don’t suffer. It certainly doesn’t mean we don’t grieve.

‘Seventy years’ is the symbolic way to say ‘an average lifetime’ or ‘a generation’ in several Biblical passages. There is a lot of time between when God will call you Home and where you are now. In the meantime, we may feel like we’re passively waiting, but we do have a purpose down here on Earth.

God promises that He will bring us home at exactly the right time, on His timing. He will do everything He has promised in every scripture about Heaven: wiping all our tears away (Revelation 21:4), removing all our pain (Revelation 21:4), and bringing us to a place where there is no darkness because He is the light (Revelation 21:23). We can wait with confidence that we can trust Him to bring us Home, maybe not soon, but when He feels the time is right.

A Hope and A Future

“11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 

12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 

13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 

14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” 

(Jeremiah 29:11-14, NLT)

This scripture promises national restoration to Israel and the hope of Heaven to us. Verse 11 also shows that no plan God has for us is intended for disaster. He does allow suffering so that we can come closer to Him, but plans good things and allows bad things all with one motive: giving us a hope and a future, both in our time on Earth and for eternity. Someday we will no longer feel distant from God and even today, there is less distance between humanity and God than this Old Testament passage suggests because Christ died to give us the opportunity to have eternal life and help us to connect with God in prayer right now, giving us ways to experience the fullness of His presence here on Earth.

So, what are we supposed to do while we’re waiting?

Many New Testament scriptures address this question. Jesus Himself gives instructions to all Believers that provide insight into why we are not Home yet, in Matthew 28 - we have work to do:

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(Matthew 28:18-20, NLT)

Essentially, the world needs to understand salvation. We are here in this world still because God wants us to show other people His love through us. He has given you specific talents and gifts that He wants you to use for His glory.

Throughout the Bible, historically, and today, God uses grief and tragedy to help other people around you find His love. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take time to grieve the death of your loved one and let yourself feel emotions as they come to you, but it does mean that you can have hope that He has plans for you to influence people for His glory.

Whether you know what your next few years or months look like or not, look for God’s work in them and ask Him to work through you to help other people find His love. When life does feel empty, let time with God and time with your family fill those empty spaces.

Here are a few Bible verses to remember as you think about your future on Earth and all the new friends, full interactions, and ways to serve that God has planned for you:

“But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.” (1 Corinthians 12:18, NLT)

Paul writes this when he is talking about the body of Christ. You have a place in it and you are right where God wants you right now. It’s not wrong to wrestle with your feelings, in fact, it’s good to talk to God about what you’re going through and tell Him what you need to get through the day and trust Him to provide for you by giving you exactly what you need. However, today and every day God puts you in the right place at the right time for a reason.

“let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1, NLT)

Running is hard. Personally, I don’t enjoy it, but even friends of mine who do like to run agree that it is hard to keep running when your body is tired, your brain feels fried, and you are feeling overheated and like you couldn’t possibly take another step. Life is like a race too, it is hard, long, and laborious. God promises that He will give us the strength to keep running, but we must make the active decision to take that next step and trust that every inch of the race course Paul uses to describe life is there for a reason. Each new foot of ground we gain leads us closer to Home.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

If you look in the mirror and see a flawed personality, all of your sins, all of your mistakes, and a broken, messy past that you may be assuming will get worse from here, know that you truly are God’s masterpiece. Your life is like an unfinished painting, it does not look perfect yet, but it is not done either. Long before you were born, probably before the beginning of time, God planned every good thing that He was going to do through you. If you allow Him to work within you, He will do good through you that you won’t even know about. 

Through Christ’s death and resurrection, He has redeemed you and declares you as beautiful, worthy, chosen, and made to know God and to pour out the love you receive from Him into your words and actions wherever you go. This doesn’t mean God expects you to be perfect, but it is proof that God is going to do life changing things through you. He has chosen to involve you in His Will and has decided the exact number of days He will use your gifts, talents, personality traits, and even your flaws to impact other people.

Conclusion

A few songs came to mind while writing this article that may be helpful to listen to as you hold onto the promise that God has a plan for your life now:

“These Days” by Jeremy Camp

“You are Loved” by Stars Go Dim

“Dream Again” by Matthew West

“Unfinished” by Mandisa

I hope that sharing these scriptures with you helps you realize just how much hope there is in the promises of Heaven, but also God’s promises for your life now. When it is hard, God will give you the strength to endure and persevere. I believe that God has wonderful things planned for you each and every day. Lean on Him in every way, but keep stepping forward in faith.

Footnote: I wanted to include a few scriptures you can turn to specifically addressing the lies above. There are many more, so you could probably do a search on a Bible website to find even more:

Loved: Psalm 23:6, John 3:6, 1 John 4:9-10, etc. 

Purpose: Jeremiah 29:11, 1 Corinthians 12:14-18, Ephesians 2:10, etc.

Alone: Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 33:18, Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 28:20b, etc.