Life After Death, The True Meaning, and What Is It?

I had a dream last night about losing my dog. I know it sounds strange, but nevertheless, I still had the dream. It made me think about death and dying, and how great it will be one day to join my dear friend Shilo, up in that heavenly place, and frolic with him once more, how great will that be? Perhaps to be reunited with my mother, my father, and my entire relatives of the past decades that I have lost and missed. What about my aunt JoEllen, boy I sure miss her, she was my favorite of all my aunts. Now it isn't my intention to make everybody upset or put you on a bummer, and after all, this isn't probably the best of topics, and also keep in mind that I am a Christian man, coupled with Christian beliefs, but I really started thinking about the significance of death. This is nothing new, and I am sure that folks have pondered this for generations, and perhaps I can get some input from our knowledgeable leaders of the cloth, but I would like to get this clear once and for all about death. We all know sooner or later that it will come our turn to go to that heavenly place that we all know and love so well, but until recently, I have looked at this from a whole new perspective, a different angle if you will. In a sense, I have thought about this in depth, now keep in mind, I am not a scholar of the bible like some of you fine folk are out there, but I did take 3 years of Seminary when in High School, and I did learn a little about "Life after Death", and I am not all to certain that I understand it's perplexities.

I really started thinking about this when my mother passed away. As most positive minded Christians would do, I would think about being able to see her again when we were reunited once more in that heavenly place, but how would I know her? I have to keep in mind that according to the Southern Baptist belief, that we of course all go to that eternal place "IN SPIRIT", We are rid of our physical bodies once we are dead. Are we assuming that our spirits look the same? I think not. I have see in several movies like for instance "Ghost" where Patrick Swayze is still here in spirit, and he looks the same, he is just surrounded in light. How about Casper, the Dr.s wife comes back in spirit the way she looked in life, is this accurate? There are several depictions in movies that insinuate that we will look in spirit like we do in the flesh, and I doubt that. I honestly think that we will look nothing like we do in the physical body. Are we this endless sea of spirits that float around for eternity with see-through bodies or forms? How will we know our loved one's if they are in spirit? What will we look like? I really don't think anyone knows. As I thought about this, I was a little unsettled by the prospects of not being able to identify my loved ones. I have actually faced and experienced death in the flesh when I had a heart attack, and was "brought back to life" by my cardiac surgeon whom saved my life. I actually died on the operating table. I tried to recall what I experienced, and all I can tell you is that I experienced blackness. No sound, no light at the end of the tunnel, no one was seen in spirit or the flesh.humm..I wonder why? Was I in a "halfway world" when I experienced this? Why was no once seen? Why can't I remember? I really don't know, it is not what I thought it would be like. The only good thing that I got out of that experience is that I am NOT afraid of dying anymore. It didn't hurt at all. Strange? I thought it was.

I think that as a human spirit, both in the physical sense, and the spiritual sense, we NEED to think the way we do about death to get us through life. Death is like being born, no one really remembers how they were born. I don't remember how I died? Weird I know. But I do like the thought that I will meet my loved ones again, and I will see them as I saw them here on earth, at least I would know who they are but I seriously doubt that I will see them as I remembered them, not without their physical bodies. For all I know, my dog could be a cat by now. My mom might be right here on earth, giving birth to another child, or whatever the good Lord has planned for her. Reincarnation? Perhaps. Who will greet us at the "Pearly Gates of Heaven"? Who will welcome us? I have no idea. Is there really a Saint Peter? Well all know what the bible says. I know that you have to have faith. All I need to know is, what do I have to have faith in other than my savior? Will you meet your loved ones in the "after-life" if so how? I know that all of you with doctrine degrees in religion will have the scripture definition, but who really knows? I guess I am not asking what you have read, because I have read it all also, I am just asking what your take is on the subject? Does anyone really know? Who has lived through it to explain it first hand? No one I suspect. It is really unsettling for me not to actually know. Why? Because I as a human being not a spirit, would like to have some sort of guarantee that I will be with the ones that I love. We have to have hope in order to live, I am a firm believer of that, but who can actually tell me? I'm not sure what the answer is, but you have to admit, it is thought provoking? Hope to hear from you with your ideas.