The Heaven Answer Book

God breathed into it “the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). When a person dies, the body gives up the ravages of age and disease to decay, but the spirit (soul) returns to its Maker: “Dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Paul declared that to be in Heaven is “to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Have you ever wanted to go somewhere, but you were just too tired? Your body stays home, but your thoughts are where you wish you could be. This is a picture of the separation of body and soul. The body will be buried in the earth awaiting the final resurrection, but the soul will be in God’s care. We may spend all of our time pampering our bod ies, but if we ignore our souls, we will end up spiritually starved. While we’re here, we must take care of our souls— and God’s treasure—by feeding on the Word of God, for our soul is the only thing we can take out of our earthly experience to Heaven.

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THE HEAVEN ANSWER BOOK