Cindy Clough

We marvel and we grieve at the brevity of life. Death come for us all an unwelcome guest and yet one of the greatest preachers to those who are willing to hear. Death speaks to all of us down to the very core for we all know that it is a fate that none shall escape.

But death and the grave do not have to have the last word. If we will hear.

At times my wife will come to me and say to me do you remember me telling you… But I don’t remember it at all. We at times have selective hearing, we hear what we want to hear and cannot hear difficult things. But if you will hear, Christ is calling out, the dead will preach to us. Listen to what is said

John 5:25–29 ESV

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

We bury our loved ones , we seal their caskets well, we say our last good-byes and lower them into the ground six feet deep, we visit them from time to time and bring flowers and say prayers. But have you ever stopped to think about those flowers a symbol of life and hope. Friends and loved ones there is hope for those who trust in Christ. For those who in this life before the casket is sealed put their faith and trust in Christ, will hear His voice in the end, and thought our casket one day will be sealed, it shall open again to eternal life, but for those who reject Christ, the way of life will remain shut. Listen to the words of Christ in chapter 6. He tells us what it means to do good in this life and how to inherit life.

John 6:28–29 ESV

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

We all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, we have broken the eternal commands of God, bringing with it just condemnation, not one of us is good. God did something for us that we could never do in sending Christ into the world. He was perfect in every way. He never sinned against God or broke any of His commands. He died in the place of sinners on the cross, taking the penalty that you and I rightly deserve. He was buried like all men in a borrowed tomb, and three days later rose from the grave. He calls to all who will hear to repent and believe on Him. If we do we shall be raised in His likeness.

Do you have ears to hear? Hear the words of Christ, obey and you will live.