Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

FROM EARTH TO GLORY

This entry was posted on 05-06-2009 and is filed under DEATH.

How does the spirit of a believer in Christ get from earth to glory? By the continuing ministry of the angels of God! Jesus declared that when the beggar Lazarus died, he was "carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22). The angels are our source of transport to heaven when we die.

Death is the separation of the spirit from the body. James wrote, "the body without the spirit is dead" (James 2:26). When a person dies, his body is consigned to the earth where it returns to its original element, dust. But the spirit - "the real you" - goes back to the Creator who gave it life.

Wise Solomon spoke of the death experience and declared with the wisdom God gave him that when a man toes to his "eternal home" the dust (body) returns to the earth from whence it came, but the spirit returns to the God who gave it (Ecc. 12:5, 7). We know how the body returns to dust. We lovingly consign the bodies of our loved ones to the bosom of mother earth. But how does the spirit return to God? It is completely out of our hands. But the spirits of our departed are in good hands! The spirit of a believer is lovingly transported to the bosom of Abraham, or God, by the angels (Luke 16:22). Thank God for the caring, constant and continuing ministry of angels!

The apostle Paul described death as "the last enemy" (1 Cor. 15:26). But even in death the believer is triumphant. The body, consigned to earth, shall eventually be resurrected when Jesus returns. Hence, the grave has no victory (1 Cor. 15:55). The spirit has already winged its way home to God, so there is no "sting" in death.

Prayer: Holy Father, we praise you today for the role Your angels play in escorting the spirits of believers, including our loved ones, into Your very presence. Through Christ we pray.