My friend and her husband had been raised in a cult. It was the kind of cult that controls your personal life to an alarming degree.  But several years ago they began questioning the cult, realizing its teachings didn’t align with the Bible.  They decided to put their faith in the Jesus of the Bible as did their close friend and his wife.  What happened later when their friend got terminal cancer tested their faith.  Here is part of their story written in her own words.

“Whenever someone died [in the cult] there was no assurance of salvation.  It was always a big unknown if your loved one went to heaven or hell.   And if your loved one who died did make it to heaven, you had no idea if you would be there for eternity or not.

We did believe we [they and their friends] had faith in assurance of salvation.  But it is one thing to say you have the faith.  And quite another to have it be put to the test.    

The absolute sadness in the house when we knew it would only be a couple of hours before our friend took his last breath, was far outshined by the fact that we all knew our friend is going to heaven.  He is gonna meet Jesus soon.  Somehow it wasn’t real until we watched it happen.  I remember telling my husband,  “I never felt God’s love so much as I do right now.”   Jesus got to cash in on his blood payment.   He got to bring a sinner home and give him a crown of everlasting life.”

I’m glad that the Bible talks a lot about the end.  Both our own end and that of this world.  I often read the last chapter of a book first because I don’t like suspense.  I just want to know how it all turns out.  I’m happy that we don’t have to live in suspense about what will happen to us at our death.  The Bible gives us confidence that our death is only the doorway into a better place when we trust that God made us right with him because of Jesus.  We can’t earn Heaven by our own good works and our wrongdoings won’t bar us from Heaven.  Our entrance to Heaven depends only on trusting in what Jesus did for us.  His sinless sacrifice paid for our sins.  Since we know our destination immediately upon death, we can be grateful right now that we don’t have to fear dying.

Usually, we give thanks for blessings that we have already received or are presently enjoying.  But we can also give thanks for future blessings.  I take great comfort in knowing the happy ending that is coming.  No matter how bad things are or how bad they get, we can rest in knowing the wonderful final outcome of our personal stories and of history.  And we can be grateful.  

I can clearly remember one afternoon a week after my mother’s death from leukemia.  I was sixteen, my father was soon to return to his out-of-state job, and my living situation was unclear.  I was driving across a bridge toward the city where my mother had died.  In fact, as I scanned the city skyline, the hospital where she died loomed large.  The first thought that jumped into my consciousness was, “Oh, I’m so glad she isn’t there suffering any longer.  How could I ever wish her back even though I miss her so much?  She’s happy and healthy now.”  This is the kind of hope and gratitude that carries us through the difficult times in our lives.

In the bigger picture, we know the last chapter of this world’s history has already been written and we’re invited to read it right now.  The last rebellion against God and its consequences is already known.  The winners and losers have already been decided.  We don’t know what the period between now and then holds, but we certainly know who is in charge and that each day is a countdown to the final chapter that will unfold according to His good plan.  

We can be grateful that our God has it all under control from this minute to the last minute of history when he’ll discard the world’s systems of materialism, oppression, false religions, and disobedience to the law of love.  And after that, the best part starts!  He’ll remake this old earth physically and spiritually.  Righteousness will reign.  Evil will be gone.  Everything broken will be remade.  No more disease, death, separation, pain, or tears.  We’ll be happy and whole.  We’ll flourish and rejoice along with all the redeemed from Adam to the last baby born at the end of human time. 

So whether we’re looking forward to a happy Thanksgiving with people we love or dreading the day, there’s one day we can look forward to with hope, joy, and gratitude.  The day God remakes this old world and we live together in bliss.  We can give thanks that God has written the last chapter and it’s followed by the first chapter of a new and far better eternity.