A Surprising Benefit of Covid-19

Paul W. Swets

You or someone you know likely has battled COVID-19. I confess a bit of pride that neither my wife, Janiece, nor I had been infected. Dutch blood. Right?

Then Janiece came down with a mild case of it. She wondered why she got it and not me. I mistakenly joked, "It's because you're THE WEAKER SEX." The next day I caught a severe case of it. Incessant coughing. Extreme fatigue. Sleepless nights. Instant retribution.

Frankly, I felt I was at the end of my rope. The time of my "departure" seemed near. Then a strange thing happened. I thought, "After I die, then what? Is there really life after death or is it a figment of imagination, as some suppose? Are we immortal or mere mortals?

To answer that question, we need revelation from beyond our limited time and space. Only an infinite God can provide that. We need revelation from the word of God.

Fortunately I had done extensive research in Scripture for my latest book, THE COMING GLORY: HOPE NOW FOR LIFE AFTER DEATH. Yet, it is one thing to do objective research on this subject, and quite another to review biblical teaching when my own life was in question. As C. S. Lewis observed,

“You never know how much you really believe anything

until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.”

.Frankly, the biblical view of life after death challenges belief and is a matter for deep wonder. The Apostle Paul writes about the mystery of the resurrection of the body...

"Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep,

but we shall be changed, in the twinkling of an eye,

at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,

and the dead will be raised imperishable,

and we shall be changed."

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

and the uniqueness of eternal life...

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

and no mind has imagined

the things God has prepared

for those who love him."

1 Corinthians 2:9