Tears pooled in the corner of my eyes, and goose bumps popped up on my arms.
My reaction surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to feel emotional about a tour of a Gothic cathedral.
As colorful shards of sunlight streamed through the stained glass window, the tour guide pointed out the pane of glass representing the new heaven and new earth.
“People looked at this window and felt hopeful. They saw reassurance that death is not the end, that they would be reunited with loved ones who had died.”
I wondered if the guide had lost someone recently. The death of a close friend of family member has a way of broadening our thoughts. We move from the narrow focus of day-to-day activities and remember our lives are just specks on the timeline of eternity, where days and weeks and months go on infinitely in both directions.
When someone dies, we can’t help but wonder where they’ve gone. And we remember that we, too, will die one day.
Belief in Life After Death
In May 2025, Pew Research did a survey on belief in life after death. The data showed that, in countries around the world, more than half of the respondents believed that there is life after death. Seventy percent of Americans said they believe there is probably or definitely life after death.
That statistic surprised me a little. But not much.
One deep desire of the human heart is the desire for everlasting life…the longing to know that death is not the end. We long for reunion with those we love, even after death takes them away. And, ultimately, God has placed in our hearts a desire to know Him and to spend eternity with Him.
We know that our bodies decay and die. We observe the evidence. But could it be that God has placed in our hearts a knowledge of “something more” that just this physical life?
Abraham Lincoln said, “Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.”
— Abraham Lincoln
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/abraham_lincoln_121271
If we look at cultures across the ages and around the world, we see a common thread: a belief that there is something beyond the world we see.
The Egyptians, for example, made elaborate preparations for the soul’s transition into the afterlife.
Ancient Egyptians believed that after death, the heart would be weighed in a balance scale. If their heart was lighter than the feather, they would live forever in the Field of Reeds. A light heart meant the person had lived a good, moral life. Sin and evil characterized a heavy heart.
If a heart was heavier than the feather, a beast called Ammit would eat the person and they would cease to exist.
What the Bible Says about Everlasting Life
The Bible affirms that, though our bodies decay, our souls, (the emotions, thoughts, desires, and wills that comprise our “true selves”) live on.
- David states, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6 ESV)
- The book of Ecclesiastes tells us, “and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7 ESV)
- Jesus promises the thief on the cross, “And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” (Luke 23:43 ESV)
- Paul reminds us when we are away from the body, we are home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)
What Does That Mean for Us?
Belief in everlasting life is not just wishful thinking.
Though, like the ancient Egyptians, we know our hearts are heavy with sin (Romans 3:23), we have a Savior who paid the penalty for our sin.
Jesus Christ died in our place. But He didn’t remain in the grave. He defeated death and now offers us eternal life.
We have eyewitness accounts of His resurrection. We have the testimony of disciples who gave their lives to spread the truth of the gospel.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17 ESV)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)
Salvation comes, not through good works that make our hearts lighter than a feather, not through following ordinances, doing penance, or buying indulgences.
Salvation comes by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.
Are You Longing for Something More?
That longing for something more…. God placed that in your heart.
The idea of a spiritual realm beyond what the eye can see…that’s not superstition. That idea is not born out of ignorance. It comes from having a humble, open mind which acknowledges there is a reality beyond what our limited senses perceive.
God satisfies the longing that has been in the hearts of mankind throughout the ages.
Rest in the knowledge that all those who believe in Jesus will spend eternity together with Him.
Images: Some are my own. Others courtesy of Martti Salmi, 2H Media, Rafaella Waasdrop, Tim Wildsmith, and Andrea Leopardi on Unsplash.com
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