My heart goes out to that poor woman. I do not know what it is like to lose a child and I cannot imagine the pain she is going through. Yet, the son she was grieving for was drunk when he died and according to what was being told, if truth, he lived an immoral life. Of course no one knows whether the man who drowned during rough weather had a chance to repent and get saved before he died. I hope he did. But, though I’m sure it’s comforting for his mother to believe she knows she will meet him on “the other side” someday, I couldn't help but wonder what information she was basing that assumption on.
This seems to be the thing said and believed nowadays by many. I’ve heard it repeated a lot—almost like a mantra after someone passes away, no matter how hellvacious the departed lived, the one(s) left here on earth to mourn their loss will say, “I know I will see them again someday.”
Of course, it should go without saying that there are religions in this world that state as part of their belief system that every one gets to meet their loved ones after death. However, it needs to be said, the Christian faith is not one of those religions.
Please don’t choose to mistake what I am declaring. I do not claim to know people’s hearts. I cannot state with certainty whether this person or that person is going to heaven or hell after they die though at times I have felt certainty. But what I can have is a strong belief if I knew the person well and saw the fruits of their life. That’s all I can have though—a strong belief. I can't know. But I do know this: If you believe in the God of the Bible, you cannot believe a person, whether they are a loved one or not, is in heaven if they were not born again.
So, don’t fool yourself. Don’t let a blanket of warm fuzzies cuddle you and keep you from seeing the evil that surrounds us all or you will be deceived. There is a devil. His name is Satan and he is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. We should give ourselves to Jesus and help lead others to Him because that is the only way we are going to get to be with our loved ones in heaven. It doesn’t matter how much we want to meet them on the other side if Jesus was not our Lord and theirs also.
The truth is this: We have no guarantee of anything after death but heaven with God and His promises or hell with Satan and his punishment.
And no matter how much we want to believe otherwise, we cannot believe God away. He is the one who decides in these matters—and His judgment is not based on whether the person who died was a “good” person or a loving person or even a loved person. It is the same criteria for all. God will judge whether their sins were covered by the blood of Jesus.
God alone knows the answer to that question and He will judge accordingly. He will not judge by the false teachings of the world. We cannot believe that we or our relatives are going to be with God in heaven if we haven't allowed Him to be our Lord here on earth.
It is also popular today for some to brush over the Word of God by saying that God is a loving God and that they don't believe God would send anyone to hell. But the fact that God is a loving God does not negate the fact that He is also a just God. He said in the scriptures that everyone has sinned and that He wills that all come to Him. He has told us how to come to Him and by what means--through His Son, Jesus. If we refuse the God who created us, how can we blame Him for our choice? Yes, He is a God of love but He is also a God of judgment. He is not preparing a place in heaven for those who refused Him. He is preparing a place in heaven for those who loved Him.
That’s why Jesus said: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man comes to the Father except by Me.” (John 14:6 NIV)
Let us give ourselves to Jesus with our whole hearts. That is the only way we can know for sure that one day we will be in heaven to meet with our loved ones who did the same.