Daily Devotions
When you die! (6)
“Longing to be clothed…with our heavenly dwelling.” 2Co 5:2 NIV
Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a leading authority on death and dying, and Dr. Raymond Moody Jr., two well-known psychiatrists, examined the case histories of over five hundred people who came back to life after being pronounced dead by their physicians. Their research convinces anyone with an open mind. The people in the study described either a location of beauty, marvel, joy, and peace, or they described something dreadful. And although their bodies were real, they reported floating outside them. After being confirmed “dead,” some who were blind were able to see. They talked about people who came into the room, what they looked like, and what they did while they were there. Yet when these people were brought back, the ones who were blind could no longer see. In his book Life After Life, Dr. Moody writes: “A doctor told me of his experience in attending a man who had been pronounced clinically dead. He succeeded in resuscitating the man, who then sued the doctor for bringing him back into this miserable existence from the glory he had experienced. One woman, describing her situation after she had suffered a respiratory arrest, reports that the doctors trying to resuscitate her were pounding on her body trying to get her back while she was over them, looking down, and saying, ‘Leave me alone!’” The apostle Paul explains why: “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed…with our heavenly dwelling” (vv. 1-2 NIV). Bottom line: When you die—you really come to life!
