As you look back over the last year, how did you live out your “life perspective”? What is “life perspective”, you may ask? This is how you view your life, the world around you and the larger world in light of history.

Last year, millions of people went to bed every evening, woke up, got dressed, had breakfast, and went about their day “doing” various tasks. They lived life out of a perspective that they had based on what they believed to be best and right. There are a few things in this life that we have little to no control over. One of those is facing death. As much as we, as human beings, like to have some sense of control, this area of life is one that we are required to accept when our time comes.

However, as a follower of Jesus Christ, our “life perspective” helps us live in such a way that we can be as ready as possible whenever that time does come for us. Let’s break down these Scripture verses from 2 Corinthians 5:

v. 1: “For we know that if our temporary, earthly dwelling is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands.” For those who know God through Christ, when death comes, we will be with God. What a great comfort! Sure, there may be all kinds of questions we can ask to help us believe but in the end when we settle this one fact, we will experience peace in knowing where we will go at death.

v. 2, 3: “Indeed, we groan in this body, desiring to put on our dwelling from heaven, since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.” When we believe this fact that at death we will be with God, we may go through times when we ache with wanting it to happen sooner than later because of the pain and suffering in this world. Are you going through something in your life now that would cause you to ache for being in God’s presence based on your confidence that you will be with Him on that day?

v. 7-9: “For we walk by faith, not by sight, and we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him”. “To be out of the body” is biblical language for physical death and to be “at home with the Lord” is to be with Him after death. To have this kind of life perspective requires faith. Faith is believing when we do not have all the answers. This is difficult for many in this generation as it has been for others throughout history. However, from my own experience, this life perspective is so helpful to provide peace in the midst of challenging questions about life and death. This does not mean that we should not seek to find logical and even scientific answers to difficult and challenging questions. Many of these are answered if we will take the time to seek and discover! However, there are far too many people who jump to conclusions about faith and their eternity is at stake.

Are you one of these people who need to step out in faith with God? If you truly seek Him with an openness and faith, you will find Him with these life and death questions. Just as God told a man in the Bible named Jeremiah, He most certainly has this same message for you: “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)