The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
'Imagine there's no heaven'
By Mark Porinski
PUBLISHED: April 3, 2008
John Lennon's song, "Imagine," first came out about 37 years ago. Today it is still one of the most frequently played songs on the radio, and is even heard in elevators and department stores.
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Rolling Stone magazine listed it as the third greatest song of all time. And certainly the melody is appealing. But do people really listen to the words? Do people really understand that the song calls for the breakdown of society as we know it? Do people really want to live in the chaos and despair that this song glorifies?
Let me just focus on one line in the song: "Imagine there's no heaven."
You've just been in a terrible automobile accident, and you wake up to realize you have no feeling in your arms and legs, and never will. Imagine there's no heaven.
Your test results have just come back, and the doctor says that your cancer has progressed so far that further treatment will not be of any use to you. Imagine there's no heaven.
After 25 years of marriage, your spouse says, "I don't love you anymore. I've found someone else, a true soul mate. I'm leaving you." Imagine there's no heaven.
Your dreams have all been shattered. You're stuck in a job that you hate. Your daily family life is depressing. You really don't have much to look forward to. Imagine there's no heaven.
Or, maybe you're just one of over 6 billion people in this world who are simply going to die someday.
We could go on and on. When you really examine it, John Lennon's song presents a picture of a world that's worse than any nightmare you ever had.
Thank God, though, this is one nightmare you can wake up from and find comfort in a beautiful reality: "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20). In other words, there really is a heaven, and Jesus' resurrection on Easter proves that anyone who dies ("falls asleep") believing in Him has heaven to look forward to for all eternity.
And, contrary to what Mr. Lennon implies, people who believe in this heaven do not stand in the way of progress on this earth. On the contrary, many who have firmly believed in the resurrection and eternal life through Jesus Christ have contributed the most to making this world a better place.
Imagine there's no heaven? What a depressing thought. But what can you expect from a man who wrote, in the same song, "Imagine no possessions" - and eventually accumulated a fortune of $150 million?
We don't have to imagine. We know there is a heaven. Jesus Christ rose from the dead and proved it!
Mark Porinsky is the pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, 9575 North Territorial Road in Dexter. The Web site is www.faithdexter.org
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