People who realize that they aren’t part of the bible story, that they were never sinners on the way to an end of the age judgement and never needed Jesus and salvation often ask questions like “What happens after we die?” Or “Where is your hope?”. Basically, the conversation shifts from seeking truth, to asking “If it’s true, can I accept it?
My hope for an afterlife, a loving relationship with the bible’s God, and a salvation I never needed…. came from inserting myself into someone else’s covenant story, a story that ended nearly two thousand years ago. I realize now that I was never part of that story. Biblical “eternal life” was never unending conscious life. It was symbolic language for full covenantal restoration of ancient Israel. And the bible doesn’t actually teach that people go to heaven after they die anyway.
The fact is, nobody knows what happens after their last breath, if anything. Probably nothing. There is no good reason to hope for anything after we die. It may just be lights out forever. We don’t need to be afraid of that. What we can do is live our best life and be thankful for the time we have.
The New Testament hope belonged to the people it addressed. Their hope was deliverance from the curses of the Mosaic covenant, the vindication of God’s covenant people, the resurrection promised to Israel, and the consummation of the kingdom within the time frame Jesus and the apostles repeatedly gave. That hope was fulfilled in the first century.
My hope today is found in living a purposeful life—pursuing truth wherever it leads, loving my family and friends, enjoying whatever time I have, contributing something worthwhile to others, and leaving the world a little better than I found it. This hope is tangible, based on the life we know that we have … and it’s available to you today.
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