.- Retired pastor and Christian author, Roger Barrer, expresses his opinion on whether there is a way for our dead relatives to hear us from heaven:
In Revelation 6:9-11, a group of Christian martyrs are pictured below the altar in heaven seeing death blows rain down on living Christians on earth during the Great Tribulation.
These men and women are obviously aware of the events on earth and are pleading with God to take revenge on the perpetrators of the persecution.
Acts 7 records the stoning of Stephen for the “crime” of preaching the Gospel. He was the first Christian martyr. Just before he died he saw Jesus leaning over the walls of Heaven looking at him with compassion and concern:
“Hearing this, they became furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ said he, ‘I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this, they covered their ears and, shouting at the top of their lungs, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him” (Acts 7:54-58).
Some see Hebrews 12:1-2 as evidence that Christians in heaven can observe the activities that occur on earth.
The Heroes of the Faith are depicted in Hebrews 11 standing in a large stadium cheering on Christians who are running the “race that is set before them.”
I do not particularly agree with this interpretation. I think the writer of Hebrews was simply using them as encouraging examples to us that our faith can also result in a victorious life!
On the other hand, Julie and I listened intently as one of our missionary friends from the Middle East described the raid on his family by the secret police of a nation that often persecuted Christians.
His skull was split open by an axe. Her husband was mercilessly beaten. God miraculously protected her children.
She was airlifted to Vienna and miraculously survived with all her mental and motor skills intact! Her husband made a full recovery. She wept as she described the horror of the attack; however, moments later her lips curved into a soft smile as she recounted the vision she had of her during the attack on the saints from Hebrews 11, encouraging her grief.
While these examples may hint that your mother can hear (and see) you on earth, they are certainly not definitive. My opinion is that I just don’t know the answer. But, perhaps the following story can put things in perspective.
Come what may, God listens
When our little girl, Jessie, died in our arms, Julie and I said, “Goodbye,” and then knelt down to pray.
I remember asking God to tell Jessie that we were her mom and dad and that we loved her more than words could say.
I asked God to tell him how glad we were that he finally had a functioning body with which to enjoy the delights of Heaven. I prayed that God would tell her that we were looking forward to seeing her again soon!
At her funeral, I prayed that Jesus would tell Jessie that we really wish she was still here on earth, but we didn’t envy her one bit of the great time she was having in heaven.
I still find myself silently praying those prayers today, 38 years later. I don’t know if Jessie can see or hear me directly; On the other hand, I know that God can, and that makes me trust that Jessie knows it too. Ask God in prayer. It may be that God conveys the message.
Written by Dr. Roger Barrier on page cross walk. The author is a retired pastor from Church Houses in Tucson, Arizona.
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