What happens when we die?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/07/2020 (1050 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The past few months I’ve been writing about the four big questions of life: origin, meaning, morality, and this month, destiny. 

In other words — where do I come from, what gives life meaning, how do I differentiate between good and bad, and … what happens when I die? 

So, what does happen at death? Do we cease to exist? Do we re-enter a cycle to come back in another form? Do we have souls that live eternally? Where and how? Do we face any kind of judgment for the lives we lived and the choices we made? Do we receive any kind of reward? Is there a way to know for sure?

What we believe about our destiny, “the particular state of a person or thing in the future, considered as resulting from earlier events” (from the Cambridge dictionary online) will deeply affect how we live, provided we are living in harmony with our beliefs. Will we live with a sense of accountability and hope, accountability and worry, disregard and despair, fear and confusion, or some other combination?

We tend to avoid the discomfort of examining our beliefs. Maybe we fear our questions have no firm answer. Maybe we cling to our beliefs because we’re accustomed to them and the identity we’ve formed. How helpful it would be to know our beliefs are founded on truth (tested by logic, evidence, and experience), and if our answers to life’s questions are coherent with each other. 

What if you could know with certainty, through a mix of faith and rational thought, what your destiny is? What if you could have assurance rather than anxiety when anticipating the end of your life on earth? Would you allow yourself to question? Would you seek out answers?

I believe in God, revealed in the intricacy of nature, our innate sense of right and wrong, and the Bible. Read the Bible and you will discover who God is and the story of how God’s perfect creation and design became marred by sin (turning away from God and what he says), how death entered the world, how God set up a rescue plan through his son Jesus, to reconcile God and humanity, and how one day, there will be no more death, sickness, pain, or sorrow as God restores creation back to perfection. The key is believing in Jesus and our need for forgiveness. The good thing is not wondering if we’re good enough. We’re not. But Jesus is. We don’t have to fear death or despair of death. For Jesus overcame death.

This brings me to the end of my series. Sadly, it is also my last article as community correspondent for The Times, as I have moved across the river.

If you would like to keep up with my writing, follow me on Facebook at: Sonya Braun – Writer, Speaker, Singer. It has been a pleasure to write in and about the North End all these years. Thank you for your kind words along the way.

Sonya Braun is a community correspondent for the North End. You can contact her at sonyajoy@gmail.com