MAX LUCADO: From empty tomb to eternal home, what happens when we die

Several years ago, I received an urgent call to visit a dying man in the hospital. I didn’t know Ray well, but I knew him well enough to know he was paying a high price for his hard living. Though he’d make peace with God through Christ, his liver was in conflict with his body.

When his ex-wife phoned me, she was standing at his bedside. Ray, she explained, was knocking at death’s door. Though I hurried, he entered it minutes before I arrived. The hospital room had a "just happened" feel to it. The ex-wife saw me enter and looked up. With eyes and words, she explained, "He just left."

Ray silently slipped out. Departed. One moment here. The next moment… where? He passed, not away, but on. Yet on to where? And in what form? To what place? And, once there, what did he see? We so desire to know.

Who in your life "just left?" When the breathing of your spouse ceased, the beating heart in your womb stopped, or the beep of your grandmother’s monitor became a flat-lined tone, what happened in that moment?

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The question this Easter is where do Christians go when they die? (iStock)

And what will happen to you in yours? Barring the return of Christ, you will have one… a last breath, a final pulse. And… then what? What will we be after we die? What will happen? Answers vary.

Nothing, some people say. We will decay and or disintegrate. Death is a dead end. Our works and reputation might survive, but not us.

Or, we become part of the universe. Eternity absorbs us like a lake absorbs a raindrop. We return to what we were before we were what we are… we return to the cosmic consciousness of the universe.

Christianity, on the other hand, posits a new, startling idea. "Death has been swallowed up in victory" (1 Cor. 15:54 NIV). According to the promise of the empty tomb, my friend Ray awoke in a world so wondrously better than this one that it would take God himself to convince Ray to return to Earth.

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This is the Christian hope. This hope is verified by the Easter miracle, that stunning moment we celebrate as Easter. Do you know this miracle?

What happened to Christ?

It was Sunday morning after the Friday execution. The sky was dark. The disciples had scattered. And the Roman executioner was wondering about breakfast or work or his next day off. But he was not wondering about the fellow he had nailed to a cross and pierced with a spear. Jesus was dead and buried. Yesterday’s news. Right?

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Wrong.

"There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’" (Matt. 28:2-6 NIV)

The congregation recites the Lord's Prayer as Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley celebrates Solemn Mass on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

And out he marched, the cadaver-turned-king, with the mask of death in one hand and the keys of heaven in the other. He has risen!

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We know what happened to Christ when he died. What happens to those who believe him?

What Happens to Christians?

Simple, because the tomb is empty, the promise of Christ is not. If you trust Christ with your life, he will take care of you in death.

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When you die, your spirit will immediately enter the presence of God. You will enjoy conscious fellowship with the heavenly Father and with those who have gone before. Your body will join you later. We believe this is true because of Scriptures like this one: "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8 NIV).

When Ray’s ex-wife asked me what happened to him, I could rightly say, "He is away from his body and at home with the Lord."

Have you made this the hope for your life? If not, doesn’t it make sense that you do so? Doesn’t it make sense that you know your destination?

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Travelers do. I’ve engaged in dozens of airplane conversations in my life. When I’ve asked, "Where are you headed?" people always have an answer.

This is the Christian hope. This hope is verified by the Easter miracle, that stunning moment we celebrate as Easter. 

Every traveler worth a flight mile knows that the purpose of the plane is to carry us from one place to the next. Do you understand that the purpose of this life is to do the same? You were made for more than airplane peanuts and in-flight entertainment. You were made to go home.

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Jesus Christ rose from the dead, not just to show you his power, but to reveal your path. Just like he did for my friend Ray, He will lead you through the valley of death. He will lead you home.

"Death has been swallowed up in victory" (Cor. 15:54).

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