After a long day during a 1995 Mexico ministry trip, Bill fell asleep on top of a pick-up cab. In Lethal Harvest, he  compared dying to going to sleep after a long, tiring day.

In addition to being a seminary professor and medical doctor, Bill Cutrer was a novelist. In this excerpt from our first of three coauthored works of medical suspense, Lethal Harvest (Kregel)— a finalist in the suspense category for Christian fiction's highest award—Dr. Bill provides his view of the afterlife. He does so through the character of Ben, a medical-doctor-turned-chaplain, who delivers a funeral message for a colleague. 

Ben began again, slowly opening hisBible. “Dear family and friends, you have come today out of respect for thelife of this man and love for one another. You look for answers, a sure word,something you can trust. We can find that certainty, the true comfort thatreaches to the soul, only in God's word. Life and death, joy and mourning areso familiar to us. Yet in such moments our footing seems unsure. We can'tunderstand.”

           

Marniefelt for a moment as though she were someone else, observing it all but notbelieving it was her own reality. She brought herself back by hugging Emily toher side. Emily, who had spent her Sunday mornings watching cartoons, had neverbeen part of anything like this. She sat politely in her new navy blue dresswith a full petticoat, her feet sticking out several inches beyond the edge ofthe pew. At the moment, the red-pencil picture she drew on her program consumedher attention.

“InEcclesiastes 7:2,” Ben continued, “Solomon, the wisest of all men, wrote, 'It isbetter to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, fordeath is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. Sorrowis better than laughter because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart ofthe wise is in the house of the mourning, but the heart of fools is in thehouse of pleasure.'”

Bencontinued. “How can Solomon say it's better to go to a house of mourning? Whatcan we learn in the midst of such pain? The anguish, the tears of a wife wholost her husband, a mother who lost her son, a sweet child who lost her daddy?How is a sad face good for the heart? How does this wisdom come? Where do wefind anything positive in such tragedy?”                           

Marnielooked up at the stained glass windows, self‑conscious at this pointthat Ben's words had directed the crowd's thoughts to her and wanting tostifle a sob when Ben said the word “daddy.”  

“Whenthe Bible speaks of passing from this life into eternity, we see severalbeautiful word pictures,” Ben explained. “Death is likened to threethings—striking the tent to prepare for a journey, going to sleep, and goinghome.

“Now,most of us have a great sense of joy as we prepare to go on a journey,especially if we look forward to our destination as a beautiful, safe place.”

Marnie'sthoughts drifted back momentarily to the time in Hawaii she and Tim had spentlast Christmas. Lately she'd kept remembering not the big events they'd shared,but the little details about Tim. Like on that trip how they'd been so amusedto have rented a red convertible to buzz around on Maui only to notice that allthe other tourists had done the same. They'd seen as many red convertiblesthere as yellow cabs in New York.

“Heavenis such a place. In beauty beyond our imagination, heaven is a place wherethere is no death, no tears, no need ever to mourn again,” Ben continued.

Marniehoped such a place really existed and wondered whether Tim had made such ajourney. She looked admiringly at Ben, feeling compassion pouring over thecrowd in his voice. Standing behind the podium, he looked strong, exudingconfidence. He really believes what he's saying. She realized she wassurprised. She had never heard someone as educated as a physician say anythinglike this, and she found comfort in his words. She hoped they were true.Emily's fidgeting in her seat brought Marnie back. Having covered the programwith scribbles, Emily began looking for a new project. Her mother reached inher purse and pulled out a note pad.

“. . . and going to sleep at the end of a long, tiring day,” Ben said. “Nothingsounds better. Dying for the child of God has been described—accurately, Ithink—as being like when a child falls asleep in front of the television. Sheawakens the next morning in her own bed, not knowing how she got there, butrested, refreshed and at home. Now, we know that her mother or father hadgently picked her up and carried her to her bed, pulling the covers over herand tucking her in securely. So it is when one of God's children passes fromthis life to awaken in the next. We can trust in the tender care of ourheavenly Father to transport us safely there, home with the Father in heaven.”

Marniedabbed her eye as she remembered the last time she had seen Tim carry aslumbering Emily to bed and planted a kiss on her forehead.

 “Perhaps the most familiar and beautifulpicture of this life's end is that of going home. Is there any sweeter phrasein all of language? Going home. Ideally home is a place where love and securityabound and surround each family member."

Home.What am I gonna do about the house? Huge payments. Insurance. Stocks. Bonds.Investments. Marniefelt her anxiety building again momentarily. Tim handled all that on hiscomputer, and I don't even know his password. Emily slid out of her seat tostand on the floor. Marnie gently patted the pew and shot her a stern look.

“Finally,Jesus said, 'In My Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so,I would have told you,'“ Ben continued. “Some translate this as 'mansions.' Butwhatever the heavenly abode looks like, we will find it perfect for us.” Bencontinued reading. “'I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare aplace for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, so that where Iam you may be also.' We have it on the authority of Jesus, the Son of God, thatGod has a place prepared, and safe passage promised for those who have trustedin Him, in Jesus, the Lord and keeper of our souls.

           

“Whydoes Solomon say to find wisdom in the house of the mourning? Because in thesad times, the hard times, we look into the faces of those we love who havelost loved ones. In those times, we remember and we consider our ownfrailty—our own mortality. The passing of Tim Sullivan reminds us that thislife is a vapor. It's here and so quickly gone. Are we prepared for thatjourney? Are we certain of our heavenly home? You can be certain, secure thatwhen the time comes for you to strike the tent, to slip into sleep, that youare going home to the promised, prepared place in the Father's house.”

Read what he said about finding God in the darkness.
Read what he said about mourning, loss, and the human response to crisis. 
Follow this link to the SBTS audio resources featuring Dr. Bill. His talk on grief is particularly timely, as is his message on Psalm 121.
Follow this link to hear him speak on Philippians 4 (scroll to 2/17).