"Do You Believe This?"

I heard a minister say this past week that death should not be in the vocabulary of a Christian. The context of his comment was a funeral service and his point was that our hope in the eternal Christ overcomes death.  Resurrection is at the heart of our faith for it reminds us, as the Apostle Paul said, that Christ makes all things new.  But death cannot be denied.  To ignore its effect on our human experience is to diminish so much of what we hold dear.  The death of a friend or loved one wounds us deeply, for even though by faith we have hope in the risen Christ, we must continue in this life apart from someone who has meant so much to us.   To deny the reality and depth of that pain would be to deny the value of human life bestowed by the Creator.

For more than three decades I have walked with families through the valley of the shadow of death. The unique nature of each relationship and person involved has made no two of these experiences exactly alike.  Today, September 11, reminds us that death can come suddenly and senselessly. But whether it comes in an act of war, the result of a tragic accident, illness, or the final breath of old age, death is a solemn and undeniable experience of life that impacts us all. 

So how do we live in its aftermath...how do we walk through this valley...how do we move forward in the shadow of our losses? Jesus knew the painful reality of death. In John 11, Jesus learns that his friend Lazarus is ill and while he makes his way to his friend, Lazarus dies. The dead man's sisters greet Jesus with tears and brokenness. Moved by their grief, Jesus wept. The heavy burden of grief was known in the heart of the Christ.  "I am the resurrection and the life," he told Lazarus' sister, Martha. "The one who believes in me will live, even though they die." Jesus did not deny death, but in the midst of its burden and brokenness, he offered hope. Through his own tears, he offered his grieving friends the assurance of resurrection. Then he asked Martha a very pointed question; "do you believe this?"

Today, in the midst of painful remembrances, the same question comes to us.  Yes, death is a part of our vocabulary, but so too is comfort and hope in the resurrected Christ.  In answer to Jesus' question...yes, I do believe, and therefore, even in brokenness, there is hope. Thanks be to God!

Jim Abernathy