"Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
Today I was thinking very much of my friend Matt who passed away this past June. I was also thinking of something my friend Plucko said once: "If there is no afterlife, then everyone's life is tragic."
This, of course, does not prove that there is life after death. But it does highlight how drab our world truly would be if there was nothing more than this life. Every love you ever have would only be a temporary thing.
But in our bones we know that love is forever. This includes the love of friends.
I think this is why we still love the dead. You could write it off as some sort of coping mechanism of the mind. But I think that it reaches into that deep reality that we know: that this life is not the end.
Today is the day that reminds us of that. Jesus Christ rose from the dead to show us that our end is not the grave but life! In Him, if we truly love each other, then we can hold onto each other forever.
Because of Jesus, one day I hope to see my friend again and shake his hand. I live in this hope because the One who promised to me is trustworthy. Jesus is offering us eternal love. This means that He can make our loves eternal.
For those of you who have lost loved ones, I grieve with you. But I offer you the hope that can only be found in Christ: hope that parting is not permanent.
Because death has been defeated by the Lord of Life!
He is Risen.
Alleluia!
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