A Universal Certainty

It was the first day of a two-month visit to Chicago, from Queretaro, Mexico. They were roller skating joyfully through the park, weaving among the people on the sidewalk and performing grandiose spins, enjoying the sunshine and the cool breeze. I didn’t mean to spoil their fun, but what I asked them literally stopped them in their tracks.

Despite their happy-go-lucky mood, Raul and Paula, brother and sister, took my question very seriously, and really appreciated it when I gave them time to really work through their answer. It’s a universal question we all need to consider, whether it’s our first day of a long vacation or we are in the midst of the distractions and busyness of our everyday life.

What happens when we die?

I’m not trying to be morbid or a Debbie Downer, but it’s a question we will all face one day, because the latest surveys reveal that 10 out of 10 people will, indeed, die.

These same surveys indicate this isn’t a racial or culture phenomenon. Neither is it socio-economic or simply an American activity. Raul and Paula affirmed that it also true back where they came from in Mexico. The question of death is universal.

And so are the answers.

I hear a lot of the same sort of wishful thinking from wherever in the world people come from in an international city like Chicago. Now that Covid travel restrictions are loosening up, I look forward to carrying on some of my “reverse missionary” work as more and more international travelers visit our city.

I just hope the latest rise in violence doesn’t keep people away – and of course that the plague of violence in Chicago will diminish along with the plague of Covid. What horrible reminders of the randomness of death, and our need to make peace with God here, now, before its too late.

In Ecclesiastes 8:8 we read “No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death”. That day is inevitable for us all, and every little grey hair is just a friendly reminder that our days are numbered.

Raul and Paula don’t have any grey hairs, yet they wisely took my question seriously and gave thoughtful consideration to the Gospel. Please pray for them and their two-month stay here in Chicago, that they will be safe and maybe run into other Christians who can further guide them along toward a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus.