I knew a man who had an Out of Body
Experience. He died on the operating table, and was brought back to life. He
described the typical things you always hear about: seeing a bright light,
going through a tunnel, meeting Jesus and seeing his loved ones. When he
recovered from his surgery, he had quite a tale to tell. I even invited him to tell it from my pulpit.
But the problem was that he never showed any evidence that his life was changed
(other than being lengthened) by the experience. I had hoped that this man, who
never gave any thought to spiritual things before, might actually be
transformed by such an event. I knew him for years after the incident, and
stayed in close connection to him, and I never saw any repentance, spiritual
growth, or fruit in his life. I'm glad I'm not the Judge, because if I
were, I'm sure I'd get it wrong--but people like that make me wonder.
You see, the Christian life about
spiritual transformation. It's not about saying you've had a mystical
experience. It's about a relationship with the living God, not about joining an
organization. Too many people think that being a Christian is about attending a
church or getting baptized. What it's really about is Jesus changing you.
Eternal life is about leaving behind your life that's based on the things of
this world, and exchanging it for a life focused on infinite things. It's about
putting your selfish self to death and taking up your cross daily to follow the
Lord.
Now I know that as soon as I say this,
some readers will say, "Wait a minute! Eternal life is about living
eternally: your soul living forever in heaven with Jesus after you die."
This is what we are so familiar with: the idea that eternal life is about
living forever. That it’s about an eternal duration
of life. I'm not arguing against this.
In fact, the Bible has a lot to say about an afterlife, either experiencing God’s
mercy or apart from knowing God's love. I am suggesting, however, that eternal
life means more than that. You can live
an eternal life here and now, and you don't have to die in order to have an Out
of Body Experience.
Certainly, death will be the
ultimate OBE. In fact, Paul tells us to so look forward to it that we
eagerly desire the upcoming state of life:
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is
destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly
dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we
are still in this tent, we groan, being
burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further
clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2
Corinthians 5:1-4 ESV)
Paul describes the earthly body as a
physical tent that we wear. He says that
our spirits groan to be free of this tent, and to be clothed in glory and
ultimate life. We long for the day when
we can be free of the encumbrance of these physical bodies and their
limitations. We look forward to putting
on our resurrection bodies, which will be forever free of pain, sickness, and
injury. That will be a permanent Out of
Body Experience.
Usually, when we use the term OBE,
we’re either talking about people who intentionally leave their bodies through
religious euphoria or drug-induced states.
These people have an OBE without dying at all. Trance states, dreams,
and visions are the water in which mystics swim. Paul describes it this way:
I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained
by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in
Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I
do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether
in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and
he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. (2 Corinthians
12:1-4 ESV)
Many
believers seek these kinds of OBEs, but this is not the ordinary Christian
experience. These phenomena are exceptions to the spiritual rule. Instead, the real Christian life is supposed
to be an everyday Out of Body Experience, in which we no longer focus on the
things of this world but transform our reality into a spiritual one. Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Jardin said,
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings
having a human experience.”[i] This is eternal life—to daily walk around
having an OBE, where you are transformed into a spiritual being having a human
experience and not the other way around.
Paul continues in 2 Corinthians 5:6-9:
So we are always of good courage. We
know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the
Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes,
we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at
home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away,
we make it our aim to please him.
Being at home in the body means living
this physical life—something we’re all doing right now. But feeling
at home in the body makes it impossible to please God. As spirit-walkers, God calls every believer
to no longer feel at home in the body, but to be guided by courage as we try to
please God. As everyday visionaries who
don’t need a trance-induced state, believers walk by faith, not by sight. Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) describes faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen.” This faith-insight gives us courage to face
whatever life has to offer, confident that God will see us through. I pray that for you, every day will be an Out
of Body Experience, and that this experience will transform your life.
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