Hosea 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction.”

Psalm 49:15 “But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself.”

John 5:28-29 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out-those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”

Jesus was raised from the dead; death could not hold him; He is alive forevermore, and because He lives, we who belong to him will live forever with him. 

Death is not a word we like. Even for those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ, it can be scary and hard to process. It can sometimes seem unfair when someone is taken young in life; or what we deem is too soon. That person we have loved, laughed with, sat at meals with, held, and cared for is now gone. We want to keep those we love here on earth; we selfishly think that we know what is best, and to be honest, we just do not want to hurt that deeply; we do not want to feel that grief walking as our companion through this life because to some degree we will feel it each, and every day. 

But scripture is clear that those who die in Jesus, the born-again believer are merely sleeping. Awaiting that day when God returns and calls them to himself. Those sleeping in Christ will break out of those graves and they will meet him in the air. Spirit and body once again together. I cannot imagine what this will look like, my mind races with thoughts of what will happen. 

When we put that body into the ground, it seems cold and dark, lonely even. Our grief is palpable; yet for believers, there is still hope, yes even joy at work in us. Why? Because we know what God’s word promises. God has promised to take us to himself, that where He is we will be. 

What a glorious and exciting thought, knowing that for all eternity we will be with our Lord and Savior! Our faith instantly made sight! However, that is not true for those who die without Christ. They truly are dead and a second death will follow their earthly death. But those who belong to Jesus are immediately in heaven before the One who died for them, who took their sins upon himself, Jesus, our Redeemer.

For those without Christ, they will be judged for those things they did in the flesh while on earth; they have not repented of their evil ways and therefore there is no longer any hope that remains for them; only judgment, condemnation, and the second death. But not a death where they no longer feel, hear, see, or experience pain and suffering, no this death is a death of ever being rescued. There is no longer any opportunity to be saved. Utter darkness void of any, and all hope is their eternity. I cannot imagine being in a place where ALL HOPE is gone, torment constantly with no way of escape. They were ushered immediately into hell when they took their final breath on this earth. 

Why am I writing about this now, Aren’t there more exciting things I could write about, the answer is yes, of course, there is. The Bible is full of the good news of the gospel, it is full of promises to the believers, it is full of knowledge and wisdom for our everyday lives; wisdom and power, and the list could go on and on because everything we need is found in those pages. But to be honest, I long for you to truly know Jesus, I long for you to be ready whenever your time comes to leave this world, and I long for those who stand over your grave to have the comfort and joy of knowing you are merely sleeping, and you will live forever with Christ Jesus. 

When a loved one or friend passes from this life to their life in Christ we as believers think about that “happy reunion day,” when we will join them around the throne worshipping and praising God, receiving our rewards from Him for those things done in His name, for His glory. It is a comfort to us when grief tries to overtake us. We see what will be…on that day.

Wake up people, today is the day of salvation! If you have not called on the name of the Lord, repented from your sins, and asked Jesus into your heart, you can, and by doing so you too will live forever, you too will immediately go to heaven upon your death, you too will have every sin erased from your record and will be washed in the blood of the lamb. Never to suffer any sickness, torment, sorrow, pain, disappointment, etc., ever again. 

Think about it… there is either life or death waiting on the other side, which do you choose? I pray today you will be saved, today you will say yes to Jesus! And for those who know Christ, who have loved ones waiting for you…that day is coming, hold on, walk in the comfort of knowing that you will see them again, and we will all worship the One who saved us for all eternity; our faith then made sight!