“Those who hope for no other life are dead even in this.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
People frequently make sad mistakes at funerals—
eulogizing a loved one only in the past tense, as if life were all history;
mourners speaking of the need for closure, laying to rest previous relationships;
through ritual and ceremony, trying to bury strong emotional ties along with the remains.
Grieving people do need to continue responsibly; and life, whether we like it or not, does go on.
However, what we need most is a sense of OPENING—a skylight of hope in the dungeon of despair.
Human beings do live on after death; it’s not all over when names appear in obituary columns.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph did not say He was their God—He said I am.
God is the God of the living, not the dead—death does not have the final say—Life does.
The future will be as bright as the promises of God.
The Lamb’s wedding will follow Satan’s funeral.
Life’s gala will succeed death’s dirge.
Heaven will cancel heartbreak.
Jesus is our skylight of hope.
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
Sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1 Corinthians 15:55-57 ESV)
Johnny R. Almond
Christian preacher and writer
Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity
[Devotion based on Day 36 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]
GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized (copy, paste to browser for blog)
