Articles
Sunday Morning Immortal
(Barry’s Note: The following article was written by Dee Bowman, who passed from this life last week. He preached in a meeting for us several years ago and whenever I got the opportunity, I went to hear him. Such a godly man who did so much good in his life. The following article demonstrates the depth of his desire to be with his Lord.)
I don’t know why, but I’ve just always assumed that when the Lord comes again, whenever that might be, that He will come on the Lord’s Day. I suppose I have that impression because it was on the Lord’s Day that He was resurrected. It just makes sense to me. For me, Sunday and immortality just kind of go together.
The concept of immortality is difficult for me to grasp. I can’t imagine living forever, never being sick, never even having a bad day. And I certainly can’t get hold of the concept of being in the presence of God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. That’s too high for me, folks.
But I believe it. There are too many assurances that it’s so. First Corinthians 15 tells us that “He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. And after He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once...” (verse 6). That He was resurrected is as much an indisputable fact as that He was declared dead (Mark 15:44; John 19:33). The evidence of His resurrection is irrevocable. His resurrection is the assurance of ours.
Paul affirms that at the resurrection of the righteous “this mortal must put on immortality.” The words “put on” in the Greek are “clothed upon.” I don’t know how we will be clothed with immortality, or with what visage it will come, but I know that John, who no doubt wondered the same thing, says, “...it has not been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2). I guess that’ll be sufficient – to be like Him, don’t you think? Can you get a hold of that?
Just think about a place where there are no tears. No phone calls whose immediate reaction begins with, “Oh no.” No obituary columns to peruse. No graveyards or hearses, no funeral homes. There will be no reason for tears. There won’t be any bad news of any sort. I could stand some of that, how about you?
I started to say there will be no doctors in heaven. I’m sure there will be some doctors there, because I know some that are qualified; but I mean that there will be no need for their profession there. Nobody will practice medicine because nobody will get sick. There won’t be any cancer, no heart trouble, no diabetes in heaven. There won’t be one single, solitary pain – not one. How about that for a paradise? No pain.
We always think of heaven being up. In fact, the skies and the abode of the stars and planets are called “the heavens.” It must be “up” because we are told that Christ ascended and that those who saw His ascension “looked steadfastly toward heaven,” and were asked by the angel, “Why do you stand gazing up into heaven?” The Scriptures everywhere state that when He comes again, He will “descend from heaven with a shout” (1 Thess. 4:16).
Heaven is the dwelling place for the immortal. It is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as “The celestial abode of immortal beings; the habitation of God and His angels... the state of the blessed hereafter.” The re-ensoulment of the body is a staggeringly wonderful thought. The fact that we will be raised into immortality is one of the highest thoughts of human contemplation. Just a cursory dwelling on the thought makes you want it desperately.
I want to go to heaven. I want to go there because there won’t be any tears, no sickness, and no dying. But mainly I want to go there because of who will be there. My Lord and my God. The Holy Spirit Himself (I want to know a quite bit more about Him). My Savior and Lord. His men – men like Peter and Paul, James and John. My own father and mother. Norma’s father and mother, Joe and Sophia Fullington. People I have loved in this life – people like A. Hugh Clark, Grover Stevens, James R. Cope, Roy Cogdill, Franklin T. Puckett, and Homer Hailey. But there will be lots of lesser lights there, too. E.J. Nichols, Phyllis Key, Clay Turner, Norm and Naomi Henson, Margaret Gage, Jimmy Balmer.
But there are two fellows who will be there that have fascinated me for years, and I want to be with them. Those two little men who walked on the road to Emmaus. I just want to talk with them, get to know them, because I think I’m so much like them. I want to talk with Cleopas. And, even before that, I want to ask that other fellow what his name is.
I can’t imagine immortality. I don’t comprehend it. But I believe it’s going to happen for the faithful. And it will be something special. I want it so badly, don’t you?
I’ll tell you one thing, folks. If you miss heaven, you’ve just missed all there is.
