This past weekend marks the 2nd anniversary of my grandfather’s passing. I was unable to make it back for the funeral as I was on the other side of the continent and there was a snowstorm blowing over the region. Interestingly enough the storms were blowing again this weekend as my thoughts drifted to the scorn of death.

For many, death is viewed as the end of the line. It is just the inevitable facet of the circle of life. Dust to dust…so they say. Others believe your soul lives on and how you choose to live now determines how it [your soul] will live for eternity. The two views are in stark contrast with each other and have generated heated debate over the centuries.

From time to time we hear of miraculous healings or of people being raised from the dead. Scoffers, there are many, as these accounts seldom can be confirmed beyond the one or two zealots that witnessed the event. And even if the physical evidence would suggest it occurred the naysayers would bark all the louder calling it a fraud or illusion bent on scaring people to repentance.

The story depicted in the video below is no different. Something miraculous occurred; something that science cannot explain and the pundits of course, call it fraud. The one difference I see with this story is that it happened in an American Emergency Room. To me this is significant, since the hospital staff is required by law to chart everything and there would have been multiple eyewitnesses. How do you fake a man having a heart attack and being pronounced dead? There would no reason to try and fake this. There would have been a half dozen or more primary care nurses and doctors along with secondary team members replenishing supplies, charting, and helping the primary team in any way possible.  However, if you tend to believe we are only animals destined to die and be returned to the earth then I can see why one would so desperately try and convince others this was a hoax. Your whole world view, your belief system would suddenly be shaken at its foundation. You would be forced to acknowledge or at the very least consider the possibility of there being an afterlife.

The Story of a Man’s Encounter with Death on September 20th 2006

“It was like being in battle—chaos, everyone fighting to save this man’s life!” Dr. Chauncey Crandall recalled when he entered the emergency room. This night would change many lives forever!

My "inner battery" was charged as I listened to this story. There were three things in particular that caught my attention. Three things that helped me recognize my ordinary humanness, my need to listen and act, and what death really is.

My first discovery is that I am normal. I too am not the only one that lacks faith from time to time and that my selfish desire and resistance to listening to the “voice in your head” is common. But more importantly, that obedience, despite our shortcomings or lack of enthusiasm is paramount in our faith walk. How often do we miss out on the extraordinary by choosing not to take action? By choosing to ignore that voice and carry on with life? By making excuses for why we should or could not complete the task at hand? What would this world be like if we were obedient?

Jeff Markin’s immediate and dramatic recovery is truly a documented miracle, despite being dead for over 40 minutes; he was left with a strong healthy heartbeat and no brain or organ failure. His head and hands that had turned black from lack of oxygen returned to normal. But it was the account of what it was like or where he was during those moments that struck me. He was not a church going man and did not believe in God before this event. But he described death exactly as the Bible declares: forever being separated from God. He recounts that he was in a dark place and was all alone. He remembers thinking and feeling terribly disappointed with the realization it was to be like this for eternity. Talk about shaking the foundation of your world view!

It is a sobering thought to think that even if we try to deny the existence of God, in the end and deeply saddened God will honor that choice and not force us to spend eternity with him. After seeing the wonders of this created world, I could not imagine a world without Him.