Is there life before death? - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek Me and live!
Amos 5:4

Is there life before death?
Many people ask the question: Is there life after death? Others desperately search for the meaning of their lives before they end.

The songwriter and lyricist Wolf Biermann was born in Hamburg in 1936 and moved to the GDR in 1953. There, in 1965, his performances were banned. Biermann once expressed his thoughts on our question thus: "That can't be all. There must be something more to come! No, there must still be life in life."

The Bible tells of a king who was just as concerned with the meaning of life. It was Solomon who, in his advanced age, wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. A wise, successful and wealthy ruler, he had pulled out all stops to be happy. He invested in impressive real estate, laid out picturesque parks with innovative irrigation, increased servants and property, profited from tribute from other countries, promoted music and married numerous women (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:1-12).

But in the end, Solomon was disillusioned and disappointed to find that none of this had made his life worth living. At last he came to the astonishing realisation: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all" (ch. 12:13).

What are your goals in life? In what do you seek fulfilment and happiness? The God of the Bible invites you to seek and find the meaning of your life with Him. He says: "Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live" (Isaiah 55:3). This is what matters and what is worth living for: we get to live with God! Then we really live before death. And then we also live after death - for all eternity.

Today's reading: Numbers 9:15-10:10 · Matthew 7:1-12