Separated upon Death

This morning a group of us from Calvary Chapel Sydney pitched in at the Castle Hill Cemetery "working bee."  Three times a year, a group of volunteers give their Saturday morning to pick up rubbish, toss dead flowers and broken vases, and remove any debris from the turf around the tombstones.  It was wonderful to share the love of Jesus through a simple act of kindness.

Long mounds of red dirt heaved from the turf over freshly dug graves.  As I walked down the rows of headstones amid the cackles of kookaburras, I noticed something I have never seen in a cemetery before.  The burial plots were segregated based upon different faiths.  There was a Catholic section, an area for Muslims, Jews, Baptists, and Independents.  Many more groups were represented in this graveyard surrounded by tall gum trees on the edge of Fred Caterson Reserve.

The thought occurred to me:  though these deceased folks are in separated in rows according to denominational persuasion, they all have one thing in common.  Every one of those bodies is a vacant husk, which used to contain a living soul.  They have all "gone the way of the earth."  One lived for two years, another for 27, and many for much longer.  That one thing they have in common - death of the body - is a greater similarity than the sum of their unique personalities, talents, and gifts in life.  The only reason why their bodies rest underground in a cemetery is because their bodies are dead - a permanent, irreversible state of corruption all people face.

The fact a body is buried in a certain section of the cemetery has no bearing on the eternal destination of each soul.  No one is guaranteed passage to heaven because a cross or a scripture adorns their tomb.  Everyone must face the grim reality of death, but for those who repent and trust in Jesus understand death is the entrance to eternal glory.  John 11:25-26 reads,  "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"  Being Immanuel (God with us), Jesus is the only one who can say this.  He proved His worthiness through His own resurrection.  John 3:16 also confirms:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  The Bible teaches that if we repent and trust in Christ, we have assurance through the promises of scripture that if we were to die this very moment, we will be in the presence of Jesus Christ.

All those folks in the cemetery were created in the image of God for the purpose of knowing Him and glorifying God forever.  On the day of judgment those who during their lives believed in Christ and those who refused Him will be separated, even as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.  That moment will define our eternal destiny:  heaven or hell.  Are you afraid to die?  Are you ready to die?  Those who are afraid are not ready, and unless I knew Christ and the promises of God's Word I would not be able to sleep at night!  Death looms ever closer, and it is only through Jesus we can overcome death!

I could care less where my physical body laid to rest.  But the eternal destination of my soul?  That is of utmost importance.  Jesus says in Mark 8:36, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"  Jesus is a Savior who redeems souls from death.  All who come to Him in humble faith He will by no means cast out!