What Happens After We Die?

Q: We cannot know what happens after we die. Neuroscientists claim that consciousness ends with brain activity but admit this realization can be psychologically unsettling. The idea of an afterlife provides comfort, a way to cope with fear. Isn’t it wiser to focus on the here and now and make the most of the time we have?

A: Focusing on the time we have now is wise no matter what we believe about the afterlife. But the deeper question is this: What is consciousness?

Is consciousness simply neurons firing in the brain? Or is the brain more like an antenna—receiving and transmitting something greater: the spirit that is our true being?

Science tells us energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. If that is true, then what about the energy of our consciousness? Could it mean that we are eternal beings—created in the image of an eternal God?

Consider this word-picture: a baby in the womb. In the womb, life feels natural, safe, and complete. But the child is not designed to remain there. Birth is frightening—a violent break into an unfamiliar world. Yet it is the very reason the child exists.

What if life in this world is the same? We grow, learn, and find meaning here, but we are not meant to stay. Death is not the end—it is the transition, the birth into eternity. We fear it, just as an infant fears leaving the womb. But once consciousness enters eternity, it becomes clear: this is why we were created.

If we love truth, do good, and walk in fellowship with God in this life—the “womb of eternity”—then the transition is peace and grace. But if we love lies, live only for ourselves, and reject what is true, then the transition is painful, because we are unprepared for eternal reality.

This life is preparation for eternity. In the womb, growth is automatic. In the world, growth requires choices: to love what is true, to do what is good, and to be what is right.

Modern Relevance: Is truth relative, or is it eternal? Our culture often treats opinions, feelings, and desires as truth. But eternity will not bend to our opinions. Truth is reality—unchanging, unshakable. The journey of life is to discern truth from lies, light from darkness, purity from corruption. When death comes, we are birthed into the place we chose by what we loved.

Jesus came into the world as a tuning fork—The Way, The Truth, and The Life. His life shows us how to align with God’s truth. His death redeems our failures and restores harmony when we fall short, so that in eternity we resonate with God. We don’t have to be perfect; we simply need to tune our lives to His—loving what is true, doing what is good, being what is right.

It does not matter what you believe if what you believe is false. What matters is truth. And truth will matter forever.