We’re Only Camping: What Happens After You Die
Pastor Kyle Veach
As we step into a new year, many of us are thinking about goals, habits, finances, health, and direction. But Scripture invites us to start somewhere deeper—by remembering that this life is not our final destination. In 2 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul reframes how we understand life, death, and eternity, reminding us that what we do now matters forever. Click the link above for the full message.
This Life Is a Campsite, Not a Home
I once took a backpacking survival class in high school that ended with a three-night camping trip. A friend and I packed like we were moving into a house—coolers full of steak, soda, milk, and cereal—only to discover the campsite required a three-mile hike. The hike was miserable, but once we arrived, we set up camp and lived like kings. We settled in like it was home.
That story is funny for a camping trip, but dangerous when it becomes how we live our entire lives. Many of us treat this earth like our final destination instead of a temporary stop. We put down roots as if this world is permanent. Scripture tells us otherwise. This life is a campsite, not a home. We are meant to pack light, live temporary, and remember that we are just passing through.
Why Eternity Matters More Than We Think
As we begin the year, we will talk openly about the afterlife—heaven, hell, and what happens when we die. Most people avoid conversations about death, yet we spend endless energy planning for temporary things while giving little thought to eternity. That imbalance is dangerous.
We are incredibly intentional about temporary things and dangerously casual about eternal ones.
What you believe about eternity determines how you live today. If you believe life is an accident, you will live that way. If you believe you were created for eternity with God, your choices will reflect that truth. The Bible does not debate the reality of heaven and hell, and neither should we.
Three Things That Happen After This Life Ends
Scripture gives us clarity about what happens when this life is over. While not everything is revealed, God has told us enough to live with confidence and purpose.
1. Our Physical Bodies Die
Death is the one certainty every human shares. Hebrews 9:27–28 says, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” Every life comes with terms and conditions, even if we do not like reading them. We all click “agree” when it comes to death.
You started as dust, and you will return to dust. Your body will not live forever. That reality is not meant to terrify us, but to awaken us. Reincarnation is not biblical; you live once, you die once, and eternity follows.
2. Our Souls Separate From Our Bodies
You are more than flesh and bones. If you were only a body, heartbreak would not ache the way it does. Guilt would not keep you awake at night. Love would not feel eternal. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”
When the body ceases, the soul continues. Scripture teaches us not to live in horizontal fear—fear of people—but in reverent, vertical fear of God. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When believers die, they are more alive than ever.
Jesus demonstrated this truth at Lazarus’ tomb. In John 11:25–26, He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” Death does not end life for the follower of Jesus; it changes location.
Where the Soul Goes After Death
When Jesus hung on the cross between two criminals, both men were guilty, broken, and desperate. One mocked Him. The other recognized Him. In Luke 23:42–43, Jesus responded to the repentant thief: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
That moment reveals the heart of God. The thief did not clean up his life. He was not baptized or enrolled in a class. He simply trusted Jesus at the last possible moment. We serve a God of last-minute grace. Eternity with God is not earned—it is received through faith in Jesus.
3. We Will All Face Judgment
Judgment is unavoidable, but Scripture helps us understand it clearly. Many people picture judgment as a courtroom, but for believers, it looks more like an awards ceremony. First Peter 1:17 reminds us that God judges without favoritism and calls us to live as “temporary residents.”
For followers of Jesus, judgment is not about sin—Jesus already paid that price on the cross. It is about faithfulness. Second Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” This is the Bema Seat, a term borrowed from the Greek Olympic Games, where rewards were given after the race was finished.
The Judgment Seat of Christ Explained
The Bema Seat is not about whether you qualified for the race; it is about how you ran it. Believers will be rewarded for how they lived, loved, served, endured, and gave. Scripture speaks of crowns for leading others to Christ, enduring suffering, and living faithfully.
We will be judged by:
How we treated people
How we cared for the poor and marginalized
What we did with what God entrusted to us
The words we spoke
Whether we lived for ourselves or for Christ
Jesus makes it clear that what we do for the least of these, we do for Him.
Living With Eternity in Mind
This message is deeply personal. The longer we walk with Christ, the easier it can be to drift into living for this world. Our roots grow deeper into temporary soil. We become distracted, comfortable, and forget where home really is.
If you are new to faith, hear this clearly: you do not drift into eternity with God—you choose it. Communion reminds us of that choice. It resets our hearts, re-centers our priorities, and brings us back to what matters most. It reminds us that Jesus gave everything so we could live forever with Him.
Reflection QuestionS
Am I living like this world is my home or my campsite?
How do my priorities reflect what I believe about eternity?
What would change if I truly lived to please God, not people?
Further Resources
Heaven by Randy Alcorn
Eternity Is Now in Session by John Ortberg
The Case for Heaven by Lee Strobel
