I am the resurrection and the life…
John 11:25
I lost a friend yesterday – as did many other members of the church where I work. I’ve only known her for a few years – a drop in the bucket compared to the 40+ year friendships that she had with other members of the congregation. She was a charming, effervescent woman with a warm, welcoming smile. She passed away yesterday morning after a long battle with cancer that metastasized until there were no further medical treatments left to try.
It is very difficult to lose someone you care about, and to watch the suffering of the one left behind – totally unprepared to go on alone. There is a place in the heart that never quite recovers from the loss of a parent, a spouse, or a child. Without the infilling of the love and compassion of God, and the support of family and friends, such bereavement would be unbearable. Without the hope of the resurrection, it would be unthinkable.
The Bible is full of promises that the end of life on earth does not constitute eternal nothingness. We have the hope in Jesus Christ that there is something more – an eternity of life and love in the presence of our Lord and Savior.
Behold, I show you a mystery – we shall not all sleep,
But we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
At the last trumpet.
The trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.
-The Messiah by G. F. Handel
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