Until we meet again

If there is an afterlife, who are you most looking forward to seeing again? Is it a friend or relative? What would be the first thing that you'd say to them?

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Permalink Reply by Linda A. on May 3, 2009 at 11:15am

Sue...you are absolutely right. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. There is no soul sleep, just the body, until that day when Jesus returns.
Thank you!!
Linda A.

Permalink Reply by sue on May 5, 2009 at 9:01am

Linda, I found this while reading this morning and I wanted to share. John ll, 23-25. Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again". Martha answered, "yes, Lord I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live , even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?
This was the Lazarus story.
I am not trying to preach but I was hoping this might help to understand where our loved ones are. Suep

Permalink Reply by Linda A. on May 7, 2009 at 11:34pm

Sue, I do believe this. I am a born again Christian. I believe when we die, we are present with the Lord. Our bodies die, but our souls live on. I believe in the rapture of the church. We who are alive will be caught up with the Lord, and those who have died in Christ (believers) will be raised with their new, incorruptible bodies.
"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

Permalink Reply by sue on May 9, 2009 at 10:28am

You are right Linda. Thanks so much for sharing that.
You know my husband (passed over 5/22/08) stuck to his belief that we just go to sleep and sleep until the trumpet blows etc. When my mom passed 4/15/07, he started with that stuff and I told him to stop because my mom was in heaven and that was that. He just smiled that knowing smile of his.
After he passed we ran across something in the bible at our home study group of which he and I had been in for a couple years and were loved there and I had a funny thought. I told our friends that when Tom got to heaven he looked around and said, "that Sue was right again". We had a laugh over that and felt he did too. I know Tom is happy, I feel it in my spirit. I will never get over missing him and wanting him to come walking through that door but I am going to go on and make my life work without him and someday when we meet again he will say, "I am proud of you for how you survived with all that pain you went through when I had to go". Love doesn't die, it is in your heart forever but we have to live because we are still here and I want to honor what we were and keep going until we meet again. We were so blessed to have had these loved ones in our life and we still are. suep

Permalink Reply by Karen Love on May 11, 2009 at 12:23am

Of course there is an afterlife...Spirit goes on and on and on no longer hindered by the limitations of the body. My Mom passed on 12-21-09, My daughter on 11-13-88 and my husband on 9-20-90. My Dad on 12-25-83. After grieving which we must...believe me, tis all not just dust. I feel all of them with me at times. They come in dreams. A burning KNOWING! I am a Christian and in (John 11:26) it states; Whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. Believest thou this? and...

If Christ did not rise, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins. More than that: those who have slept the sleep of death in Christ have perished after all...But it is not so! Christ did rise from the dead...Otherwise, if there is no such thing as a resurrection, what is the meaning of people getting baptized on behalf of their dead? If dead men do not rise at all, why do people get baptized on their behalf? (Moffatt;1 Corinthians 15)

Being in the physical...we miss them physically...talking on the phone, seeing their face...but now that they are spirit, they are still our beloved, who love us and continue to cheer us on. It's a different type of communication which we must tune into. "Oh Death, where is thy sting?"
I honor all that have passed on and thank God I had them for however long a time I had with them. They are always with me and loving me still. I regret at times that I should have shown them even more love...we get so busy with our own affairs, we don't realize that just like that...in the blink of an eye...our body can give out for whatever reason and we label that death. I pray for their soul's passing and have no doubt that love and spirit can NEVER EVER die. I know that they watch over me in spirit when needed and I JUST KNOW! And I'm smiling.

Permalink Reply by sue on May 11, 2009 at 9:47am

Wow Karen, that was great, thank you so much for your inspiring words. I so agree and again, "we are all one in spirit, so it makes sense to me that we can still be in unity even though they are no longer in the physical body.
The anniversary of Tom's death is coming up 5/22/09 and I find myself thinking of him more and this morning I had to have a good cry and a talk with him. I still miss him physically and oh how I would love to just sit together and talk but I know he is still with me at times and I live for the two of us. sie[

Permalink Reply by sue on May 17, 2009 at 12:09pm

Melvin, I believe you are misinformed and I pray that you speak to a Christian bible believing, person and but I respect your right to believe as you prefer. I can't understand why you say the bible doesn't say the soul lives on? Have you read this or just repeating what the Jehovah's tell you?
The dead in Christ are without Christ, so therefore they are dead. Christians, those who have accepted Christ, or not dead. " Out of body, into God's hands".
It is important that each person find their own way. I do not listen to the Jehovah's as I believe they are misinformed. I do however respect their right to believe as they will but I don't give their beliefs space for many reasons. And yes I have listened to them many times as they knock on doors in my area often. I am kind to them but just don't believe they are correct in their teaching. suep

Permalink Reply by Christina on May 27, 2009 at 5:07pm

Most definitely my mom and dad. Other relatives (grandparents) and friends. Especially George and Joyce (my favorite college instructor). I miss them all like the dickens. I would tell them how much I've missed them and love them and how true it is that we don't realize what we have til it's gone.

Permalink Reply by Christina on May 27, 2009 at 5:14pm

Christina Madera said:

Most definitely my mom and dad. Other relatives (grandparents) and friends. Especially George and Joyce (my favorite college instructor). I miss them all like the dickens. I would tell them how much I've missed them and love them and how true it is that we don't realize what we have til it's gone.

Sorry to do it this way but I don't know how to edit my reply. This is my very first post. My mom passed on August 29, 1992 and my dad passed on February 19, 2002. These were great blows to me and my life has changed so much. Yes the body is a shell for the soul and I know they are still very much alive (just without bodies). I sure miss them. George and Joyce were good friends of mine and were a great comfort to me when they passed (Joyce with my mom and George with my dad) and now they are both passed too (he was only 38 and she only 49). If I'm lucky enough to pass through the pearly gates and be with them all, first thing I'd ask is have you thought about me the way I've thought about you and have you enjoyed your stay here?

Permalink Reply by Linda A. on May 27, 2009 at 6:34pm

Melvin,

The main verse used by advocates of soul sleep is Ecclesiastes 9:5. Two major problems arise when you try to use this verse to prove soul sleep. First, the book of Ecclesiastes frequently states things that only APPEAR to be true from the human perspective --- from the limited vantage point of "life under the sun". Second, interpreting Ecclesiastes 9:5 in this way can't be harmonized with other statements made in the same book. Solomon clearly believed the soul continues on its conscious existence after death. He writes in (Ecclestiastes 12:7) "Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it".
The split second a person dies, his or her soul/spirit immediately goes to one of two places, depending solely on that individual's relationship with Jesus Christ. The departed soul/spirit of a believer in Christ goes immediately into the presence of the Lord, while the body falls asleep.
(I took this from a book I bought after my son passed away. It's called "55 Answers to Questions About Life After Death" by Mark Hitchcock. It's all Biblically based.)
Concerning one of the crimminals who was hanged along side our Lord (Luke 24:42) And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Melvin, you said no where in the Bible does it say that the soul still lives on after one has died. There are so many verses in the Bible that mention life after death, please don't be deceived, I will pray for you Melvin.
Respectfully,
Linda

(Phillipians 1:21-23) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.

(2 Corinthians 5:8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Melvin Riley said:

No I do not believe that their is a life after death. No where in the bible does it say that the soul stills lives on after one has die. However at Ec 9:5 it says that the dead are consciense of nothing at all. This mean that those who fall asleep in death has no response after death. They are in a deep sleep waiting until almighty god jehovah resurrect them from their memorial tombs. Many wonder how this resurrection will take place and when it will be, well I encourage you to speak with one of Jehovah's Witnessses the next time you run in to one and they will be able to explain more to you about it in detail.

Permalink Reply by sue on May 28, 2009 at 10:38am

Thank you Linda for taking the time to locate this. suep

Permalink Reply by Linda A. on May 29, 2009 at 6:12pm

Hi Sue...thank you also for all that you have written in here. It really hurts my heart when people don't know the truth that God has given us in his word. Prayer is an awesome thing, so I continue to do that.
Thank you,
Linda

sue said: