Every person has different ideas on the afterlife and our soul’s final resting place. Some believe in the cycle of reincarnation, in which a person comes back in another life form determined by both good and bad deeds carried out in each life. This doctrine of karma is said to essentially decide the fate of each human being’s soul, with the ultimate hope to reach nirvana. Nirvana is taught to be a state of blissful existence where the death-life cycle is finally broken and the soul reaches its eternal transcendental state of rest.
Others believe there are hundreds or thousands of gods that exist in the form of trees, the wind, the moon and stars, wooden idols, a cult figure, or any number of both visible and invisible things. It is said that these gods must be appeased with specific acts of worship for the soul of each follower to find peace upon death.
With spirituality and diverse religions constantly increasing in staggering numbers, a growing population of people do not believe in God or any other gods whatsoever. Atheists believe there is no existence beyond the life in this current flesh and blood. Upon death there is no afterlife, and no soul or spirit within.
No matter which religious belief someone subscribes to, there is one problematic commonality that exists within each, apart from Christianity: ambiguity. There are no definites on exactly what it takes to reach God, Heaven, eternal rest, or final peace. Each person must rely on their own fortitude and moral compass to carry out admirable deeds worthy of a euphoric afterlife. When they fail and fall victim to their own imperfections there is no unequivocal mode of redemption.
Christianity recognizes the inherent weakness of the sinful human spirit and the need for salvation from the Creator. We are born with a fallen nature that cannot be remedied with genius intelligence, science, discipline, self-realization, or repeated good deeds. God is a perfect, sovereign Lord who cannot be reached with any futile human effort.
Jehovah promises that when we recognize our need for forgiveness and redemption, we only have to accept the gift of eternal life made possible through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. We can come to God with all our sins, failures, secrets, shame, addictions, perversions, fears and whatever else imprisons us, and He will rescue us. Once we say the five simple words, “Lord save me, a sinner”, He accepts us into His kingdom and our life is forever sealed with Him in Heaven when we die. No doubts. No ambiguity. We become His adopted children awaiting that final rest, ultimate peace, at the end of life here on earth.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” –John 3:16-18
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