Is dead Aunt Edna in heaven?

Softer tone for the holidays...

Have you ever been at a Christian funeral and seriously wondered to yourself “Is the dearly departed in Heaven?”

Come on… we all have. I have had friends die over the past few years and their last few years living were ignominious to say the least. If they were saved… you would not have known it. Some died from the effects of drugs and alcohol. Their lives were anything but holy.  

Is there hope for them? The answer is yes. There are portions of the Bible that support this notion. Sometimes when we read passages we must stretch our minds. By this I mean… who said someone had to be “right with the Lord” before death to make it to heaven? Death need not terminate our hope for our destinies.

Consider that scripture says that God has a passionate love for all he has created and wishes none to perish. In 1 Peter chapter 3 we are told that Jesus made a proclamation to the spirits in prison who in former times disobeyed. 1 Peter 4:6 says, “For this is the reason the gospel was offered even to the dead, so that, though they have been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.”

Some may disagree with this view point… but the scripture is there. So cheer up. Our loved ones and friends may in fact be in a very good place – regardless of how they may have lived. His ways are greater than our ways.