I Have a Future: Christ’s Resurrection and Mine
Reinder Bruinsma
As uncomfortable as it is, death is a topic that challenges all of our lives and faith. And, in our cultures and communities, there are many folksy and strange ideas about death, but a funeral or other intense experience of mortality or grief is often not the ideal circumstance for an in-depth Bible study. So it is a topic worth our faithful attention when the questions don’t feel quite so urgent or tragic.
In I Have a Future, Dr Reinder Bruinsma admits the mystery of death and surveys some of the variety of human responses across history, cultures and faiths. But he soon turns to the Bible to explore human mortality, death and what happens after, including the topics of heaven, hell and hope. The personal approach of I Have a Future—as someone who recognises that “most of my life is over and that my end will come relatively soon”—offers the invitation to explore these questions together, making this a great book to share with a friend or family member who is asking these questions for themselves.
Dr Bruinsma’s study inevitably comes to the resurrection of Jesus as the central claim of the Christian faith. Without this, all the other great ideas return to dust or, as Paul put it, “all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless” (1 Corinthians 15:14). It makes sense that this story—and the historical evidence that supports it—forms the core of I Have a Future and its foundation for hope. All of this is worth re-visiting and considering in the thoughtful ways in which Dr Bruinsma guides us, both intellectually and reflectively.
Of course, what we believe about death informs how we live and what matters most—and this is the most urgent reason why we need the affirmation offered in the title. While admitting that mystery remains, I Have a Future is a statement of confidence and expectation that our lives and choices matter beyond the certainties and uncertainties of life and death, loss and hope.
I Have a Future and other books by Reinder Bruinsma are available from Adventist bookshops in Australia and New Zealand, or online: <https://adventistbookcentre.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=Reinder+Bruinsma>
