Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge….
Excerpted from "Rainbow Bridge," author unknown...
Last week, Shadow and I bid farewell to a long-time feline friend, Whiskers.
Whiskers wasn’t a member of our household. She was the 19-year companion of our human friend, Cynthia. During the years that I’ve known Cynthia, first as an employer and then as a friend, I spent a lot of time with Whiskers.
Whiskers was the consummate grande dame. She was black with white accents, including the lush white whiskers from which she took her name. I never knew her as a kitten. By the time Whiskers and I met, she was a sedate old queen, already older than most cats achieve.
She was a lady in every sense of the word. During work sessions at Cynthia’s house, Whiskers played the polite hostess, keeping my lap warm in Shadow’s absence. At times she slipped a sly paw onto my computer keyboard to correct or supplement what I’d just typed. It’s difficult to imagine that Whiskers won’t be proofing any more of my copy.
According to Hollywood, all dogs go to heaven. What about cats? In my heart, I’d like to think Cynthia, I and everyone else who loved Whiskers will see her again. When I look into the eyes of Shadow, Whiskers or BJ, I may not see a soul in the human sense of the word. I do see a spirit and personality so strong, it seems impossible it could be snuffed out forever in an instant.
Yet that’s only my rambling thought. The Bible--my guide to life--is silent on the point.
What the Bible is not silent concerning is God’s plan of eternal life for humanity.
Many people hope for life after death or hope they’ll go to heaven. They don’t have a solid basis for their hope, other than trying to be a good person. (See my thoughts on earning your way to heaven.) Such people rely on how they feel. In the end, that leaves them with no more certainty than I feel over the fate of my beloved felines.
God doesn’t leave us hanging, though. He’s quite clear.
“And this is the testimony; God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12, NRSV).
Does that sound like a vague, esoteric statement to you? Let’s break it down.
- Eternal life exists, and God gave it to us.
- He gave it through His Son (Jesus).
- So, if you have (a relationship with) Jesus, you have eternal life.
- If you don’t, well…you don’t.
I think that’s pretty clear. If one verse isn’t enough for you, here are a few more. (In the interest of space, I’ve limited verses to those that talk about “eternal life.” More “eternal life” verses are listed at the end of this post.)
“He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11b NIV).
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24 NIV).
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day … Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life” (John 6:40,47 NIV).
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28 NIV).
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3 NIV).
“And this is what he promised us -- eternal life” (1 John 2:25 NIV).
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:22-23 NIV).
And perhaps the best-known Bible passage in the world:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life … Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” (John 3:14-16,36 NIV).
This post has already grown longer than I planned. There’s much more I could cover, including some stunning descriptions of heaven from the book of Revelation. I’ll let the Bible passages speak for themselves this time; they cover it pretty well! All of these verses, and the further reading below, say pretty much the same thing. To recap:
- Eternal life exists, and God offers it to us.
- We gain eternal life through Jesus.
- So, if you know Jesus, you have life that lasts for eternity.
So, here’s a question to ponder:
What will your eternity look like? What if there is a Rainbow Bridge where Whiskers and the rest wait for us? What if, by virtue of their comparative innocence, animals do have a place in eternal life?
Will you be there to join them?
Further Reading:
Matthew 19:16-29/Mark 10:17-30
Matt. 25:41-46
John 5:39-40
John 6:68
John 12:25,50
Galatians 6:6-9
1 Timothy 1:16
1 Timothy 6:12
Titus 1:1-4
Titus 3:4-7
Hebrews 9:15
1 Peter 5:10
2 Peter 1:10-11
1 John 3:14-15
1 John 5:20
Jude 1:20-21
And, in case you want to know what eternal life will look like:
Revelation 21-22
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