It is a question that crosses our minds at various points throughout our lives. As a pastor, I probably wrestle with the question more than most. There are various scriptures we use in memorial services that talk about death and life after death (selected scriptures from 1 Corinthians 15, selected scriptures from Romans 8, Revelation 21:1-7, 2 Corinthians 4:5-8, Ephesians 1:15-23, Ephesians 2:1-10, 1 Peter 1:3-25, Revelation 7:2-17, etc.). Most of these offer assurance and comfort of a here-after but do not describe it in great detail. The reality is that I don’t think any of us can or should be able to describe the afterlife in great detail, it should remain a mystery in some degree, but just because we cannot describe it or understand it does not mean that we should fear it. Still, if life is all that we have experienced – if we rather arrogantly presume we understand what life is – the unknown of death has an element of fear. Perhaps that is why it is so difficult to say goodbye to loved ones, why we grieve for such long periods of time. In our rational minds we suspect/know that there is something after this, we’ve been assured of it in scripture, but there is an element of doubt and of course the pain of loss.
As Christians we have a strange relationship with death. We find hope in death. At a funeral we come together not only to celebrate the life of a person we have lost, to remember the impact that they had in our own lives, and to acknowledge the new life they have begun. But also in some way a funeral service should renew our own hope and faith in the world that is to come as well as stress the importance of living our lives well. We come together to be reminded of the promise of Christ, the promise that not even death can keep us from the love of God.
It also reminds us that we should not simply shrug off the finality of death. In thinking about death it only stresses the immediacy and importance of what we do with the short life God has given us – a life that we should not squander. One day, a community of faith will gather at our own funeral service to remember us and celebrate our lives. Hopefully, they will remember us well, but more importantly, hopefully they will remember the moments that they encountered Christ through us.

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