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utilise the prayer of invitation that I have provided in Appendix C if you<br />
would like to). Or perhaps you are now a Christian – I’d encourage<br />
you to join me in this adventure of ongoing, life-transforming<br />
encounters with Jesus. The great news is that it never gets dull or<br />
predictable. Just as Jesus continually surprised the first disciples,<br />
meeting them in different ways and contexts, so now he is able to<br />
meet with us in new and various ways, in all circumstances and<br />
seasons of our lives. So, let me encourage you to stay open to what<br />
he wants to do!<br />
MORE CONFIDENCE ABOUT A<br />
GLORIOUS FUTURE LIFE BEYOND<br />
THIS LIFE<br />
As I briefly highlighted in the introduction, growing up, I believed in an<br />
afterlife – one that was more ‘hopeful’ than annihilation, reincarnation<br />
or some ‘ghostly’ existence. It centred on a rather vague belief in<br />
going to heaven when we die, even though I wasn’t sure how or<br />
whether I would go there!<br />
When I became a Christian, this uncertainty was replaced <strong>by</strong> a<br />
strong confidence: I knew that death wasn’t the end and that, as I<br />
breathed my final breath, I would somehow spiritually go to heaven to<br />
be with the Lord. I now realise that this is at best a partial<br />
perspective, and not the great hope of the New Testament. While life<br />
beyond death does start with the comforting prospect that Christians<br />
who die will immediately go to be with Christ, this is just the<br />
beginning. It’s like a temporary spiritual rest – while we wait for the<br />
glorious hope of Christ’s return and of us being transformed into his<br />
resurrection likeness.
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