Many people feel that their future is a hop, skip, and jump away, perhaps with some conflicts and obstacles here and there. It is nothing that a little extra effort or savvy maneuvering on their part wouldn’t overcome. Just read the following conversation between two individuals and see how ‘simple’ they think of the future.

“So now that you have graduated from high school, what are you going to do next?”

“Well, if my scholarship goes through, then I’ll be going to medical school; otherwise, I’m going to scale back my plans and go to the state university and pursue a degree in dentistry.”

“That’ll be quite a challenge, but I’m sure you’ll make it. What’s next?”

“After graduating and fulfilling the necessary internships, I hope to be moving into a career as a dentist. Of course, if the money becomes available in one form or another for med school, then I’d gladly continue on there to become a pediatrician.”

“Good for you! Now after you are established as either a dentist or a pediatrician, what will be next in your future?”

“Naturally as I become set in my career, I’ll most likely get married to someone who’s just as well off as I am and have a bunch of kids, you know, the usual routine.”

“Wow! I’m sure that will keep you extra busy. So what’ll be next?”

“I’ll probably make sure that my kids are all set in life and get them into some big time sports program, or, if possible, maybe an Ivy League university, like Yale or Harvard.”

“Sounds like only the best for them. What’s next after that?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about maybe following through on the rest of the music lessons I began a few years ago. I’m really good on the piano and guitar, you know.”

“Music, too? You really will be living your life to the fullest by that point. So, then what’s next on the list?”

“Oh, what most do at this point —I’ll move on from my dental or medical practice and probably captivate audiences with my musical ability during the rest of my life. I’m sure by that time I’ll be living in a relaxing cottage near the ocean, and maybe even have a second home that will overlook a gorgeous mountain vista.”

“Well, you certainly have your whole life planned out for the future. I don’t foresee any boring moments in it. So, after all of that, what’s next?”

“After that? Why I will just pass away peacefully in my sleep and give mostly everything to my children, spouse, and maybe some benevolent organization.”

“Sounds like a kind and generous plan, but what is next?”

“What’s next? What more is there? Why I’ll have a memorial service and be placed deep into the earth in a beautiful secluded spot at a cemetery, that’s what’s next!”

“OK, so you are nicely taken care of; now what happens next?”

“Look, I don’t know what you are insinuating now with these ‘what’s nexts,’ but I die—that is it! Life is over. The future is done. How should I know what happens next? I’m dead, right? It’s done. Kaput. The end. You may exit the auditorium now. The program has finished.”

****

So What’s Really Next?

So is it really over when we die? Does life just quit in the grave? Are we destined to just become a collection of bones buried several feet down in the earth, or a pile of ashes that are either scattered through the air or sitting on someone’s mantle in an urn? Can we really plan our whole life, possibly to the tiniest detail, decades in advance?

Let’s address that last question first. Do we really know what our next year will be like? How about next month, or even tonight? We plan much of our future based on what has already happened to us, or on the present, as if we could see the whole picture ahead of our life in advance. Yet we really don’t know what may happen to us even a few hours from now. The doctor may conclude that everything is fine in our health, and yet we could contract a severe case of food poisoning from a meal on that same afternoon and die several days later.

Is Our Future Secure?

On the other hand, how certain is it that we will get that job or establish that career we were planning for several weeks or years from now? Suppose that ‘perfect’ job turns out to be a nightmare, or someone on that job becomes jealous and gets us terminated for something we never did?

What if a parent or family member dies, and we are forced to leave school to take care of the family? What about a car accident on the way to class that forces us to permanently leave college? Or our grades weren’t anywhere near as good as we planned, and we fail to get our degree or degrees? Do we really know that we will find the right person to marry? What happens if our children turn out the total opposite of the way we raised them, causing us much grief, detriment, and ruin?

We may conclude, based on current trends, that the world is getting better and better—only to have a financial market crash, or a disaster, like a severe flood or a major terrorist attack, occur, sending shockwaves across the global economy. What about those future ‘unforeseen events’ that happen to everyone? We make all of these extensive travel plans to some relaxing vista and end up not going because of some ‘unforeseen event’ that occurred at our job or at home.

What God Says of Our Future

For many, the idea of judgment of their life may come as a surprise. Sadly, we were born in sin, and carrying it out became inevitable in our lives. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). As long as we reject God, and plan out our life without any regard to the possible consequences in the future, while continuing to live in sin, we leave Him no choice but to bring us to judgment after we leave this life. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth [remains] on him” (John 3:36).

The good news is, that we don’t have to be destined to this judgment. In fact, God never wanted or intended for us to be in, or controlled by, sin, and thereby judged in the first place. God loves us more than we could ever imagine. “But God [presents or shows] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God is holy and can never allow any sin in His presence ever. That is why he sent Jesus, His only Son, to this Earth, who willfully came to fulfill all of the necessary requirements laid out in the Old Testament of the Bible for the permanent covering of our sins. Only Jesus was fully qualified to do this. We, in our naturally sinful state, could only fulfill these laws on our own to cover our sins temporarily.

He wants us to come before Him, and love Him in return, not reject Him. God has gone to great lengths to make it possible for us to trust in Him for our life. He does not expect or want us to plan and work out the future of our life on our own. This only results in sin, and ultimately, judgment after death.

God Made It Possible Through His Son

We need to “believe on the Son.” In other words, we must accept His death and sacrifice on the cross as if they were our own. We need to leave our sinful ways and trust in Him for our future. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten [born] Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

When we die, our natural, physical life comes to an end, whether we end up in the grave or by some other means, but our spiritual life continues on into eternity. Whether it will be eternal life in Heaven, or eternal death in Hell depends on whom we place our trust in: Jesus or our self. Only Jesus can bring real satisfaction and freedom for the present and the future. “If the Son [Jesus] therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). We can’t plan our whole life without God. Our next reply to the question “What’s next?” needs to be “God‘s next.”

For even more information about what’s next, please visit our page on The Way To God.

[Image credits: (left to right) photo by Cole Hutson on Unsplash from Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0) & photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash]