Life After

Introduction

The inevitable tomb is not a period at the end of the sentence of life, but a conjunction connecting us with the life to come.

Death is never easy regardless of the length of life. Many of us in this room have experienced death on a number of levels. Some of us in this room have lost spouses, parents, children, siblings and close friends. Often times the only time we hear encouraging words from the pulpit about death is during the funeral. Nonetheless the toughest part of the grief is during the moments where people stop calling, the casseroles are no longer getting dropped off, the cards are no longer in the mail, and the hugs of comfort are far and few between.

There comes a time in moments of grief that it’s just you and God. It’s those moments where people need the comfort of others and the comfort of God the most. How do we navigate life after a loved one is no longer living? How can we as the church be a comfort to people who have experienced the trauma of losing someone close to them? Over the next few weeks we will be dealing with a number of topics that are hot button topics but are topics that we rarely talk about but impact many of our families. There are many things in life that some of us will never experience, but one thing in life that is consistent is that we all must die. Every road that a man walks in life ends at the grave. The road of religion, fame, wealth and success can never take you through the valley of the shadow of death. Only Christ can do that! And he will if you will but trust him. I’ve been to a number of funerals, and some funerals are more challenging than others typically based on how a person died or how a person lived. There are times when families are so distraught and even the most comforting words leave people to feeling hopeless in the midst of their tears. One thing that Paul ensures is the fact that when life is tough, death is harder. Nonetheless no matter how tough life is Jesus is a comforter of every pain.

There is Hope

1 Thessalonians 4:13 “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.”

Understand there is a difference between being sad and having no hope. God created us to have emotions. Death is gut-wrenching, death can be sorrowful. Nonetheless it’s not the hopeless sorrow of the world because death for the Christian is not the end. Paul’s point is to help us understand that Jesus is coming again and the idea of reunion should lead to rejoicing!

It’s a comfort to know that death is not the end, I can find comfort in the fact Jesus is the sustainer of life and God is the creator of eternity. Even in death, God has the power to strengthen our hearts in faith and hope until Jesus returns. It may seem odd to those who don’t understand the power of Jesus that I could find hope in the death of someone I love so dearly! When I understand who controls death, life, and eternity I don’t fear death. I might grieve, I might be sad, I shed tears, but I do not lose hope because know that there is hope in Jesus.

Understanding Death

Reading this text, one may ask why Paul approaches death in this manner. Paul essentially affirms that the resurrection of Christ was the firstfruits of those who had fallen asleep, and that when Jesus returns a second time those who belong to Jesus will be raised. We understand the fact that Jesus has the power over life and death. Jesus brings a different type of hope to us.

The bible tells us that the people in the community were sad when Lazarus died, even Jesus wept. Grief pulls out all sorts of emotions. Anger, frustration, sadness, shock, bewilderment, disgust, and the list goes on. We may have been in a situation where we questioned God, or even found ourselves angry at God. It was Martha during the time her brother Lazarus died begins to blame Jesus for the death of her brother. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”. Death leaves us with questions.

It might be confusing when we lose a child.

It might be confusing when we lose a spouse.

It might be confusing when a person that seemed like they had it all together completes suicide.

No matter how confusing death is, one thing that remains the same is the power of Jesus Christ. He has the power to comfort us in every situation. He has the power to provide us with hope during the darkest hour.

Death was challenging as Paul wrote this text because there were so many opposing viewpoints about what happens after someone dies. Some denied that there would be a final Resurrection of God's people.

2 Timothy 2:17–18 “And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.”

Some believed that Christ had already returned in some invisible spiritual manner, some believed that the resurrection was solely through the expansion of the church.

Nonetheless 1 Corinthians 15:51–53 “Behold, I tell 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. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Everyone must cross the threshold of life into the after-life.

Reunion is Coming

1 Thessalonians 4:17–18 “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

We have a duty to comfort one another in loss! Let’s be honest with each other, I may know this but in the moment of grief it may be hard to find a reason to rejoice even though I know this. There wasn’t a sermon I could preach, I hug that I could receive, a comforting word that I could hear in the moment when I lost I grandmother. Even if it feels like your words of comfort aren’t working right now, keep encouraging one another! It may not be tomorrow morning but one morning some joy is going to come. There’s going to be a time when I smile because of the memories instead of weep because of the loss. There will be a time that I can rejoice when I know that because of the life that those I’ve lost lived devoted unto Christ.

Even though there is hope in Jesus we have a responsibility as Christians to comfort each other! The key word is comfort, if you do not have anything comforting to say during someone’s time of grief than it might just be an opportunity to tell someone you love them and keep it moving! Even in the discomfort, even in the pain, I find hope in the fact that Jesus is coming again and means reunion and eternal rejoicing!

Loraine Boettner once wrote I am standing on a seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean blue. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to meet each other. Then someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.” Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load of living weights to its place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her, and just at the moment when someone says, “There she is gone,” on that distant shore there are other eyes watching for her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes,” and such is dying