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April 3, 2024
I grew up in one of those families where there was a long list of “Things We Don’t Talk About,” and death and dying were definitely on that list, especially for children. When there was a death in the family, the children were relegated to baby sitters while the adults dealt with the mystery of a loved one being with us at one moment and seemingly gone forever the next. And, as children, we just sat and wondered when people disappeared and we were told things like “he’s gone to heaven to be with Jesus,” or even just “she’s gone away to a better place.” This did not make me very well prepared to understand Jesus’ death and resurrection. I was a young adult dealing with my own first personal loss of a loved one before I could even come up with the questions to ask. But, as one of my all time favorite verses says, (Romans 8:26) “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words,” God knew and sent me some wonderful, very smart people to help me understand. I can’t pretend that I understand everything about Jesus’ death and resurrection, but Paul did lay out some good, solid truths about death’s role in the life of we mortal humans. Death is the enemy, and the enemy has been overcome. In that, we can hope and be blessed. It doesn’t really make any death “better.” Paul’s words aren’t meant to tell us we shouldn’t be sad when someone dies. Grief is a normal, complicated, human emotion. Paul did want us all to know that death wasn’t the end – not for our loved ones and not for ourselves, and that “The LORD God will wipe tears from every face.” (Isaiah 25.:8, Revelation 21:4) We can understand that God loves us so much that Jesus faced death, a hard, merciless death, as a human, in order that death would be defeated, and it was. It has no hold on us for eternity. And that’s where the hope comes from. As Pastor Adam says, “The worst thing is never the last thing,” and we can count on that. If you are struggling with the death of someone you loved and miss, or if you struggle and fear the end of your own life here in the mortal world, I know any of our pastors would love to talk to you about all of this. Just ask.
