With Halloween coming up soon, I thought this might be an interesting question. Should we fear
going into a cemetery?
After all, we can see them as being spooky places to be. And really, they are a place that some of us would rather not be. Television and the movies produce fear especially at this time of the year when they are used to scare us, and at the same time, making a lot of money for those people that make them.
In reality, they really aren't what I would call a very good place to go especially at night. And that is because there are dead and decaying bodies there with sometimes spooky and some very old headstones.
However, many people do feel they need to go and talk to their loved one, make sure their plot is well kept and some take flowers or a wreath in memory of them. It is a ritual that makes them feel closer to those they have lost. Everyone grieves differently and that is ok because God did not make us all the same. I myself, do not go to the cemeteries of those that have gone on. They aren't there, In my own way of thinking if I want to talk to them, I know that their spirits are someplace else. (But let it be said, I do not believe in talking to them in seances. etc. And I am not sure if what I say to them, might be heard by them. It is really just my way of missing them.) When someone dies, I believe what the bible says. They are either in heaven or hell. Hopefully, not the latter. Never-the-less, they aren't there in the grave Another reason, to be honest, it is a painful situation for me anyway to see their grave and miss them so terribly.
Also, why take flowers to them if they aren't there to enjoy them I hope that while they were alive, I spent more time and effort into enjoying them then. And if they were born again when they were alive, I know that one day I will see them again. But that is just me. If doing those things gives someone peace, then there is nothing wrong with that. And I would be the last one to criticize anyone for doing any different than me.
And still, that question remains. It is a fearful place to be? And the answer should be no. There are two places in the bible that tells where our spirits go when we die, which I mentioned above.
For those that were Christians, 2 Corinthians 5:8 says: To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord. Whew! There is peace in that. Because in Luke 16:28, it speaks of torment that those that do not accept Christ will go. Moreover, Hebrews 9:27 says, It is appointed to men, once to die and then the judgment. It is that judgment that determines where our spirits end up. If our names are found in the book of life, we will live forever after in heaven. Whoever is not found in the book of life, will be cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15.
Cemeteries need not be any scarier than any other place. They are plots of ground that are set aside for the burials of people whose bodies remain here while the spirits of them go on to whichever eternity they will go to. One day the bodies of all believers will come out of those graves at the sound of the trumpet as Jesus comes back to take the church home.
It is not the fear of them that we should be concerned with, but our own mortality and where we will spend it when we ourselves die. As death did not hold Jesus in his grave, so it will not hold us. It has no sting for those that knew Jesus at that time. I Corthianians 15:55. And that is the good news that we can count on. And so the next time you pass a cemetery or go to spend some time with your buried loved one, remember that they are not there and you do not have to fear to be there. Only that you need to be concerned about your eternal soul. But as long as you have breath it is not too late for you to accept Christ and have your name added to the book of life. And that being said, if you have not accepted Christ as your personal Savior and think you have lots of time to do that, don't put it off too long. We do not know when our time will be up. If we wait too long, the choice will no longer be ours to make.
Question for tomorrow: What is the big deal about celebrating Halloween?
I will give you some answers and you can decide for yourselves. Thanks for coming by today Friends. Have a blessed day!
For those that were Christians, 2 Corinthians 5:8 says: To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord. Whew! There is peace in that. Because in Luke 16:28, it speaks of torment that those that do not accept Christ will go. Moreover, Hebrews 9:27 says, It is appointed to men, once to die and then the judgment. It is that judgment that determines where our spirits end up. If our names are found in the book of life, we will live forever after in heaven. Whoever is not found in the book of life, will be cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15.
Cemeteries need not be any scarier than any other place. They are plots of ground that are set aside for the burials of people whose bodies remain here while the spirits of them go on to whichever eternity they will go to. One day the bodies of all believers will come out of those graves at the sound of the trumpet as Jesus comes back to take the church home.
It is not the fear of them that we should be concerned with, but our own mortality and where we will spend it when we ourselves die. As death did not hold Jesus in his grave, so it will not hold us. It has no sting for those that knew Jesus at that time. I Corthianians 15:55. And that is the good news that we can count on. And so the next time you pass a cemetery or go to spend some time with your buried loved one, remember that they are not there and you do not have to fear to be there. Only that you need to be concerned about your eternal soul. But as long as you have breath it is not too late for you to accept Christ and have your name added to the book of life. And that being said, if you have not accepted Christ as your personal Savior and think you have lots of time to do that, don't put it off too long. We do not know when our time will be up. If we wait too long, the choice will no longer be ours to make.
Question for tomorrow: What is the big deal about celebrating Halloween?
I will give you some answers and you can decide for yourselves. Thanks for coming by today Friends. Have a blessed day!
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