As we begin our look at The Story Behind the Story, Part 3 of The Bridge from OneDayBow (Chapter 17); I need to warn that this will be an uncomfortable juncture for some. But before we jump into talking about the judgment of hell – which no one relishes considering – let’s look at the “before it comes to that” side of this.

Have you ever talked to someone about death who really didn’t want to talk about death? Do you think it’s because the subject is irrelevant to them, or is it because of the vulnerability it involves? To even say the word validates the fact, so it’s not a normal topic. Which could lead you to think that most people aren’t thinking about it.

But what about when it’s dark? What about when you’re all alone? Forget the mask and rocky ledge for a minute, and forget the hiding out as well; neither extreme needs to come into play as you face the inevitability of the end of your bodily life.

What then? Where then?

Let me borrow the words from page 71 of The Bridge from OneDayBow:

“Can you build a tower tall enough to pass the sky?

Can you scale that tower if you really, really try?”

“Is there something else out there beyond what we can see?

And just how do you get there? Won’t someone please tell me?!”

“How many bobbles does it take for someone to win?

And if I don’t have quite enough, can I try again?”

“Since I’ve lived a good life, and given bobbles away,

Will that help my chances when I reach my final day?”

Tim heard a thousand voices – so desperate to know –

All crying out for answers: “Won’t somebody please show

The way that leads to freedom from fear of what may come?

Is there more to life than a final bobble sum?”

A final bobble sum….

I know someone who had an interesting bumper sticker: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Wins what? you may wonder. Me too. It seems to be an amusing slogan to live by, but a totally empty one to die with. I know the person well enough to know he really doesn’t believe that, and yet he seems to have acquired a significant lead in this make-believe game.

Everyone wants security: the sense that you’ll have enough, with a little extra to spare, to cover you for now and whatever lies ahead. (In the USA, the amount needed to obtain that security seems to be more than most places in the world.) But let’s say you’re able to obtain endless amounts of wealth; is that a guarantee of enduring security? What about if you’re the richest man in the Alzheimer Home? The wealthiest woman in the Cancer Ward?

Okay, security isn’t just about money. Good health is another necessity for security. So, if you have money and health you have it made, right? But what if your spouse leaves you, or dies – your forever spouse? Life suddenly turns upside down. Even something as seemingly harmless as weather can make you aware of human limitations. Let’s face it; there will never be enough of anything in this place to keep us alive forever.

What does the Bible have to save? Psalm 89, verse 48 states:

No one can live forever; all will die.
 No one can escape the power of the grave.

And deep down, everyone knows it.