We are finite…yet heading for infinity.

Paul wrote about this in his first letter to Corinth, when he expounded on a theology of death and resurrection. In chapter 15, verse 22, he wrote, “For in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” As I discussed in post (2) last week, we are all loved by the Creator God who made us, but only those to trust in Jesus for forgiveness of sins will be able to know God’s love more dearly and perfectly once more. So, too, looking at Paul’s words, we see clearly that due to the fall of man and sin entering the world, death ensued — both spiritually and physically. For the person who never accepts God’s grace through Jesus and repents of their sins, there remains both death at the end of this life and then ongoing spiritual death (separation from God and condemnation) in the life to come. Yet, for the person who does repent and run into the blood of Jesus, even though physical death must still be faced, we move from life to life. And for now, we live with tension in two senses. First, we have a developing awareness of out limitations in the face of God’s vastness; we wrestle with the boundaries of our finiteness even as we learn to trust His infinite goodness more. Second, we have more of a reason to keep on living and doing good prior to death — and yet we become increasingly homesick for Heaven.

In verses 50-57, Paul goes on to talk about how we will be changed. It seems like a mysterious thing to us: how, when the redeemed in Christ go to Heaven, we will be transformed and “the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” Yes, we wrestle still with doubts and temptation and negative emotions in this life, but we look forward to seeing Jesus face to face on the “other side.”

However, too often (if we are honest), we are afraid. We might feel more happy about all of this if we more completely understood the exact way it will feel for us when we take our last breath and slip from this earthly body. We might be okay at the thought of facing death if we could somehow guarantee that the moment of our death would be the exact moment when we were ready to die and have enjoyed life, our relationships, and our pursuits enough…and the manner in which we would die — if we could each just pass without a single tinge of pain.

Earlier in the same chapter, Paul writes, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (v. 19). I know the idea of death is generally sad and even scary. But I have long wondered why many believers in Christ seem to think physical death is a cause for terror and something to be avoided as long as possible. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the blessings God has given us while we walk the earth this side of death. Yet, how much greater will be our joy and His glory when we stand with Him and see Christ face to face one day?

Preparing to write this post reminded me of the song Mystery by Sara Groves (link to lyric video below). In that song, she honestly wrestles with her finite humanity and the process of her sanctification on this side. But then she realizes how much she needs to trust. For even though the mystery of how God will transform us when we move from this journey into the realm of the infinite is like a shadow beyond our understanding, it is also like a trust fall. The greatest trust fall of all. And when we know that He is supremely trustworthy, we know He will not fail us. However it will be to experience physical death, we will be caught. We will be led home.

We can have peace in this.

We can sojourn through the finite and run fearlessly, hopefully towards the infinite.