Thinking About the Hereafter

 Mike Johnson

A man once asked, “Do you ever think about the hereafter?” He thought for a few seconds and said, “I go into a room to get something, but once I get there, I can’t remember what I went to get. So I think, ‘What am I here after?’”

The man did not answer the question in the sense that it was asked. The questioner used “hereafter” to refer to life, or our state, after death, which we must consider. We need to consider what we will be in eternity.

Jesus gave an example in one of his parables of a person who thought only about this life. In Luke 12, He spoke of a certain rich man who had significantly prospered and had finally run out of room to store his harvest. He decided that he would pull down his barns and build greater barns. Then he said (19-20), “. . . And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’”  This man only thought of this life and did not consider the hereafter.

People must consider that eternal reward and punishment are waiting for everyone. In Matthew 25:46, Jesus described the fate of the wicked and the righteous. He said, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

We do need to think about the hereafter. However, it is not enough to only think about it—we must obey God. We will be judged based on what we do on this earth (2 Cor. 5:10, Rom. 2:6). Becoming a Christian and remaining faithful in our service to God is essential.