When a loved one passes away does their spirit "linger" for a time?

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Question: When a loved one passes away at home, do they stay in the home for a while? I was told this.

Also, I had a dream a long time ago that I was in heaven. I wanted to go in, but others there said, "You don't want to go in yet". So we went on. Then one night I dreamt that God was standing over me with his hands out. I woke up just as he was disappearing and I could see him, just for a minute.

I never told anyone because they would think I was crazy. Can you answer this for me? Thank you.

From "A" via e-mail

ATP: Thanks for your questions. They are not uncommon so don't feel like you are crazy.

As to what happens after a person dies, the Bible teaches that at death a person who is a believer in Christ immediately goes to be with the Lord. There is no intermediate state of any kind. No hanging around in the "spirit" so to speak. (See: Luke 16 in the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man; and, 2 Cor. 5:1-10, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.")

On the dream side of things, the Bible cautions us about making too much of dreams. It warns people about "dreams and visions puffed up in their sensuous minds." Our minds are powerful and can come up with their own false versions of reality at times.

On the other hand, the Bible does talk about God using dreams and visions in the lives of his children, so one cannot totally discount the possibility. But we are taught to respond to and live by what the Bible teaches, no matter what our "experience" may be. The Word of God is our guide, not our experience, feelings or dreams.

This is always to be true, but particularly so if a dream or an experience seems to give us direction or information that contradicts what the Bible teaches. God will never contradict his Word. This is critical to remember so a person isn't led astray by his/her own experiences or dreams or those of others.