So many tears…
In the last month I have lost two very dear friends. It seems the older we get the more frequently we visit hospitals and funeral homes. And quite frankly, sickness and death seem to be touching everyone I know lately. Several friends are battling cancer, a few others have children with recently detected serious health issues, another facing surgery, it’s just EVERYWHERE right now. With this severe round of the flu I see a big jump in the number of obituaries for senior citizens.
When death takes one, it’s like ripples in a stream, touching so many other lives. Gives me that “world of hurt” feeling. The pain of losing those we love cuts so deep, but thankfully in both instances, we knew the friends were absolutely committed Christians, so it wasn’t goodbye, it was only goodnight for a little while. The oldtimers call this “the blessed hope” and indeed, it truly IS. I read the blog of a young man dying of cancer awhile back. He was an atheist and had no hope of anything beyond this life. He didn’t want to die, he wanted to live and watch hisi children grow up and stay with his family. I can’t fathom how empty and pointless it must feel to face death in that hope-less state. What a tragic way to end.
I am a very pragmatic person. I look at the options. What if I am wrong about God and my faith? If I am wrong, when I die, I meet the same end as everyone, food for worms and dust to dust. I am no better or worse off than those without faith.
But if I am right, I will be able to face dying with that blessed hope of a resurrection and a new body without sickness or death or weakness of any kind. I will be able to wake up, never to die again. If my faith is right, I will see my father again, young and healthy, and my grandmother, and so many friends I have lost through the years. And the pain we have gone through for our threescore and ten will be only the blink of an eye in eternity. Those who have lost children will have them restored to them, healthy and will be able to raise those precious little ones in a perfect world with no sin or death or sickness of any kind.
