“No clue” is an informal idiom that signifies a complete lack of knowledge, understanding, or information on a topic.
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I’ve seen several YouTube videos of ‘person on the street’ interviews where people are asked the big questions of life. Random people are approached, the interviewer puts out the microphone, and asks, “Why are you on this earth?” and “What happens when your brief time on earth ends?” and, “Do you think Jesus Christ has anything to do with any of that?” I know that the replies are cherry picked to portray what the video editor wants to portray, but the interviews are usually real. And it is very sad to see that so many of the answers are “I don’t know… I have no idea… I never think about that… How should I know?” etc. Another typical answer was “I am here to have a good time,” which leads to the next question, “What happens when the good times are over?” What then? And then again, “I don’t know.” No clue.
We are here, says the Bible, because God put us here, and we are here, He says, to know Him, and to love and serve Him by serving others. That is what we are here for. And when our time here is done for, says the Bible, whether that is today or fifty years from now, when that time comes, the God who created us has another home prepared for us. And, “Whosoever believes in Jesus, shall not perish,” says the Bible, but will have eternal life in that place where there will be no more suffering, fear, pain, sadness, or death. (John 3:16 and Rev. 21)
But many people pay no attention at all to God, to Jesus, or to what will happen five minutes after they take their last breath. Belief in an afterlife lingers on, but that belief is increasingly disconnected from any religious belief or practice. We can see this expressed in reactions when death comes to a celebrity, and they are always “off to a better place,” as they all say on the talk shows; regardless of what that person believed or didn’t believe about anything; even regardless of how much the deceased celebrity neglected, mocked, or despised God when they were alive.
There are many people who believe in nothing and have no reason to hope for anything after death. But they have apparently not ruled out something beyond the grave. Many simply take for granted that life will just go on somewhere, it will be good, and it will be for them; with God being a completely unnecessary part of the process. How can this be? What would make anyone think we are all, automatically, “off to a better place?” It doesn’t look that way to me. If I am going to believe anything so outrageous as that, I need some reason to believe it. The New Testament is my reason to believe, and the New Testament always links the promise of eternal life with belief in Jesus.
Many nation-wide surveys and a lifetime of personal conversations indicate to me there is great confusion and ignorance about what comes next. On the surface there can be a cheerful confidence. “They are in a better place” they will say; but I often sense a deep uncertainty and a depressing lack of confidence. They have not been paying attention, they have shown no interest, and, they have no faith in or connection to Jesus, who is the only one who offers any real hope in the face of death. When they must face their own death, or the death of a loved one, without any faith or knowledge, there is no assurance of anything… and deep down they know it. I have many times seen this apathy which is cheerful and confident when there is life and health; but then filled with fear and dread when death comes around.
I plead with you to not be indifferent, but to listen, to pay attention, and to look to Jesus. Resurrection from the dead is a reasonable hope, even in an age of science. There are good, solid, historical reasons to believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and that Jesus can offer you that same victory over death. But look around; there is no other credible hope; certainly not in science, where dead always means dead, and neither is there any such hope in any other religion (none that can stand up to historical and logical scrutiny). If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then you aren’t going to either. There are no other credible offers on the table. Only the New Testament can withstand the questions and objections, and only Jesus is alive and worthy of our trust. Believe in Jesus and you will live.
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“Let us not forget that we are subject to the general law of mortality, and shall soon be where our doom will be fixed forever.”
–Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
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Jeremiah 5:31-31 — A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?
Galatians 6:7a — Do not be deceived: God will not be mocked.
I John 5:11-13 — This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
John 11:25 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.”
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Heavenly Father, you have made us in your image; do not allow us to so undervalue ourselves, as to give away these souls for nothing, and all the world is nothing if a soul must be given for it. Help us to seek that city not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, whose Maker and Builder is God, which is the true home of the soul. Be our guide through the darkness of this vale of tears to that beautiful shore on the other side. Here we live so small a part of our life; here we are strangers and pilgrims. We pray we may we not lose our way to the Father’s house, where God will wipe away all our tears and where there will be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, nor pain, anymore. We give thanks that Jesus came to this earth to show us the way. In His name we pray. Amen.
–Adapted from two old prayers
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An example of the sort of thing that informs the beliefs on the afterlife for many people, is this 1974 hit by The Righteous Brothers. Rock ‘n Roll Heaven is a cheerful, hopeful song, filled with memories of well-known singers who had died. The lyrics are honest enough to say “If… If there’s a rock and roll heaven.” It is no doubt all in fun, and not intended to teach… but it does. I can hear the tune as a song from the good old days, and take the lyrics with a grain of salt. However, I think many people will hear a song like that and say, “Sounds good to me;” and their foggy notions of the afterlife are formed more by popular songs, talk shows, and comedians, than by the words of Jesus. Here is the song:
(Singers referred to are Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jim Morrison, Jim Croce, and Bobby Darin. Later versions of the song add several more; including John Lennon, who wanted us all to ‘Imagine’ how wonderful it would if there were no heaven at all. No clue.)
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