At a funeral I recently attended I was, I suppose, slightly amused to see a nearby headstone in the cemetery draped with a “Happy 100th Birthday” banner. It seems vaguely ludicrous to celebrate the birthday of someone who is dead – yet, for many who have been bereaved, although they would not celebrate it as such, each anniversary of the birthday of a departed loved-one is a time for reflection and perhaps renewed sorrow at the loss.
What is it about us humans that we refuse to fully accept that the death of a loved one is final? Across the world, whether it is formal ancestor worship in Africa and ultra-modern Japan or the Día de Muertos, the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico (or 100th birthday celebrations for a dead granny in Scotland), for as long as we can trace back, humans have revered the memory of their dead. Yet, we are told that we are merely one amongst millions of animal species; a biological freak of nature or, in the words of John Gray the former Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics, “human life has no more meaning than the life of slime mould.” Our intellectual elders and betters consider such base activities as pointless and futile and demonstrating a naivety of thought that is only to be pitied – even when they themselves do not behave as though they truly believed that life is ultimately meaningless.
Despite the best efforts of our intelligentsia there is no sign that this gospel of despair is getting through. What it has achieved is to turn the people of Scotland away from the guidance that previous generations sought from the Bible towards superstition and the occult. Even thoughtful individuals struggle to reconcile their public adherence to atheism with an innate sense that their life is something of value. Consequently many are thrown back onto mysticism and self-selected beliefs about life and death.
But the Bible remains our most reliable guide to all of these matters. When we turn to it, we can understand the source of this hard-wired search for meaning in life. We find that we are made in the image of God – see Genesis 1 vs26,27. Precisely what this means is developed throughout the Bible. The Apostle Paul writes, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”, 1Thess. 5 vs23 (emphasis mine). We discover that each one of us comprises a trinity, just as God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit so you are Spirit, Soul and Body. We find that we are more than just a physical entity consisting of atoms, molecules and cells.
You have a spirit that is God conscious – which explains why all of us long for something greater than ourselves. It has been deformed and corrupted, but still the words of Blaise Pascal ring true, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”
You also have a soul that is self-conscious – which explains why we long for meaning in our life. The Lord Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”, Mark 8 vs36,37.
Don’t sell yourself short. A bit of self-esteem is appropriate in this context. Your life does have value. You are not just an animal. Loved ones who have died have not ceased to exist and neither will you when the lease finally expires on your body. In recognising this, however, we need to go to the Landlord for quality advice about life after death. The God who made you has provided guidance in His word, the Bible. Isn’t it time you listened to Him rather than to an intelligent-elite that values you at roughly the same level as slime mould?