Whoever Believes and Lives in Jesus

What happens after this life? What is next? Do you know what will happen to you?

Whoever Believes and Lives in Jesus

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?' She said to Him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.'"

(John 11:25-27)

The context of our biblical text today is that Jesus and Martha are having a serious conversation about life and death based on the recent death of her brother and Jesus' good friend, Lazarus. Lazarus had died four days prior, and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, are deeply mourning the death of their loved one. Jesus was told about his sickness in John 11:2 but did not come to the sisters immediately. It is such a powerful and riveting story.

The mortality rate is incredibly high: about 100%, in fact! Just as we are born and live, we also will cease to live. Then what happens after this life? What is next? Many are intrigued by the question, and there are numerous answers: Nothing, back to dust, there is no afterlife or soul that lives on forever. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die, and that is all. Others contend that the soul will merely sleep and come to life at another time. Others believe in what is called reincarnation, that we will come back to earth in another form, be it a plant, animal, or another human being. Others believe that at death, everyone goes to heaven. Finally, the Christian faith teaches that those who believe and live in Jesus go to heaven, and those who do not go instead to hell.

Mitsuo Fuchida was a man who did not think much about the afterlife. He was consumed with one thing: kill as many Americans as possible. I have almost finished reading the nearly 600-page book by T. Martin Bennett entitled, Wounded Tiger. Most of the book chronicles the life of Fuchida, the Japanese pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This biography is unlike any I have ever read, and I have read many, as it is my favorite literary genre. Almost every page has a picture that illustrates what the author is describing. Fuchida was a gifted pilot and soldier fighting for Japan. He was promoted frequently and was on the rise in their military. When a young man, he and his best friend, Genda, walked by a Christian church in Hiroshima and mocked it, even flipping a cigarette at it. Fuchida predicted the church would one day become ash and rubble. He rejected Christianity and did not practice Buddhism or Shintoism either. He worshiped himself, Japan, and perhaps the emperor of Japan as well.

But fast forward 18 years, and Fuchida was in Hiroshima on August 5th, 1945. He was summoned to fly a plane to Yamato and did so. The next day, the US dropped the first atomic bomb, and it decimated Hiroshima, killing tens of thousands of people instantly. Along with the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki a few days later, this hastened the resolution of the war. Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on August 15 and signed the official instruments of surrender on September 2.

Stunningly, the Christian church in Hiroshima that Fuchida mocked as a young man withstood the atomic blast, and its outer structure remained; truly a miracle. Fuchida eventually gave his life to Christ and became an evangelist preaching the very Gospel he once hated.

Will you receive God's love for you today? Believe, receive, turn from sin, and commit your life to Christ. I invite you to believe in and live for Jesus. Will you pray and give your life to Him today? If you pray to receive Christ, or if you are interested in learning more about what it means to follow Jesus, send me an email at pray@dfea.com.