I spoke with a lady last night who became a Christian after the death of her infant son. Previously she had practiced another religion, but described the way that faced with the tragic and sober reality of her son’s funeral, she began to question. She talked about the utter despair and hopelessness that she experienced as a result of the understanding that she would never see him again. That finality and lack of hope caused her to seek further about the question of the afterlife.

We have complete hope with God in the face of death. There is this verse in the Bible that says:

And regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those already dead and buried, we don’t want you in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus – 1Thessalonians 4:13 TM

I love this thought that the grave is not the last word. That God created our spirit, the essence of who we are, and that, in Jesus, that person will live eternally. That we will actually recognise each other in heaven; that relationship carries on – with God, and with our loved ones who have received the gift of eternal life because of what Jesus did on the cross.

And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life – 1 John 5:11-12.