Change of Residence
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:3 NIV)
The living soul within each of us can never be subject to annihilation. There is only a change of residence at the time of death. The soul will change its location, but it will never cease to be. That is the crux of the Bible teaching on the worth and infinite nature of the God-breathed human soul.
Consider this human situation—one many of us have witnessed at one time or another. A mother lovingly holds a tiny baby in her arms, a baby who is alive, cooing, alert, healthy. Then tragedy! Raging disease strikes down that same baby. The mother holds the infant form in her arms, but she is sobbing in grief. Death has robbed her of the object of her affection.
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A brief service of loving memory will follow. In the tiny casket, the lifeless baby looks like a still, white angel.
What has happened?
Annihilation?
No! But there has been a change of form and existence—for the parents, a shocking change. The soul within that baby, the active mind, the intelligence, the cooing and laughter—all appear to have passed away. The lifeless body will be laid tenderly in the earth, where it finally will return to dust. But that living, individual soul will not be annihilated. Never! The soul has changed its place of existence, but it has not ceased to be.
Prayer
O Lord, You will take me to be with You!
Thought
Physical death brings a change of residence not an end to existence. Residence is dramatically changed. Just how dramatic we will all experience.
Used with Permission.
