heaven

For Christians, there can be no greater comfort than knowing death is not the end. But what about those who don’t believe in the afterlife, or worse, simply don’t care?

“Heaven is a fairy tale for people afraid of the dark.” –Stephen Hawking

I’m afraid of the dark.

If we’re talking about the endless kind of darkness that offers no light anywhere, no hope ever, and nothing but nothingness, who among us would not panic at the thought of that?

I expect people like Mr. Hawking simply find the idea of Heaven too good to be true, and thus conclude that it must be a product of man’s delusional yearning for “pie in the sky by and by.”

And yet, there are solid reasons for reasonable people to believe in the concept of a Heavenly home after this earthly life. Here are some that mean a lot to me. By no means is this list exhaustive. It’s simply my thinking on the subject.

The God who made us created us with a longing for Himself and a satisfaction in nothing less.

When we get to Heaven, we will finally be satisfied, but not until then. “I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake” (Psalm 17:15).

“I go to prepare a place for you,” said our Lord. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3).

If it were not so, I would have told you.

Jesus said that. I believe Him.

I choose to believe.

Image courtesy: Getty Images / ArtyFree

In the Q&A section of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s website, the famous evangelist recently answered five common questions many people have about heaven.

When Jesus left this earth, He promised that He would return one day and take us to live with Him in His heavenly Kingdom. We are living now in the Church Age, and regardless of what you believe about specific eschatology of the end times, all Christians can agree that Christ is coming back and we are called to be ready and walking the straight and narrow path so that He may tell us "well done, good and faithful, servant" on that glorious day when we meet Him face to face.

Here are eight things you can do as you seek to cultivate a life centered on Christ, eagerly awaiting His return.

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Actor Morgan Freeman will star in the second season of the National Geographic series The Story of God, which will explore the concepts of heaven and hell.

A few well-known Christian figures went home to be with the Lord in 2016.

A former R&B singer turned Gospel singer says he experienced God after being shot at by gang members and being declared dead for 30 minutes.

Cliff Barrows, music and program director of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, passed away Tuesday, November 15th, at Carolinas Medical Center-Pineville, following a brief illness.

Two-thirds of Americans believe God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

The Rev. Billy Graham recently answered a reader’s question of whether angels escort believers to heaven after they die.