The Apostle
Paul records in his first letter to the Corinthian Church a cry of victory over
death as he celebrates the importance of the resurrection of Christ for all
believers. (I Corinthians 15:54-57) The hope we have in the resurrection of
Jesus Christ provides the confidence we can have as we face death and the
“glorious unknown” beyond it. The thought of death may leave us hesitant as we
consider the total uniqueness of this experience all must meet, but fear does
not need to be a part of it. Death no longer represents a defeat, but rather a
dark curtain separating the dim light of this mortal life and the
incomprehensible glory awaiting the children of God.
Within the
last three weeks, I have watched my father move through that curtain. His
passage was peaceful, and it ended a decades-long struggle to live with the
pain of extensive arthritis. For the first time in perhaps 70 years, my father
knows the promise we all have as recorded in Revelation 21:3-4 of a life free
from pain and suffering. A believer and follower of Christ from childhood, Pop
is now receiving, not a reward for a life filled with good deeds, but rather
peaceful rest for a life surrendered to the love of the Savior who died for
him.
This blog
and several other responsibilities were put on hold during this time. To be
able to spend the last hours of his life with him was more important than all
else. I was sitting by his bed, my hand on his, when he took his last breath.
He was an example to me in his life. His memory will remain so in the future.
Resurrection
Sunday is approaching. Holy Week begins this Sunday with what is known as Palm
Sunday. The last Sunday in Holy Week is called by the world Easter. We mark it
as the day the empty tomb was discovered by a small group of women still in
mourning after the crucifixion. (Luke 24:1-11) They thought the end had come.
They were in for a big surprise!
The Apostle Paul
said, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to
be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits
of those who have fallen asleep.” (I Corinthian 15:19-20) What the women
learned on that first Easter, the Lord’s Day, was we did have hope for
something beyond death. Life did not come to an end. Life in Christ was only
momentarily interrupted by death.
I don’t know
what heaven will be like. I’m not even clear about our journey through death
into the presence of God. The Bible seems to give us enough information for our
faith and then asks us to leave the rest in the hands of God. What form we will
have and what will occupy our thoughts (time will be left far behind) receives
only the barest hints in scripture. The picture we have in scripture seeks to
describe the indescribable in human terms. That always leaves us wondering,
questioning, and debating. It is as if God didn’t think it was important to
give us details for what was beyond our ability to understand.
In this I
have confidence, however. My father of 63 plus years is no longer suffering.
His body is no longer fighting to keep vital processes going. If I can hold to
one image, it is the same promise that Christ gave the thief on the cross,
“Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) As he faced the certainty
of death, I could ask for no greater assurance for my earthly father. For him
the sting of death was gone.
