When dealing with the death of a loved one

The child whose birth Christians celebrate every year on December 25^th grew up and conquered death.  The greatest gift we have ever been given is the hope for eternal life.  Christmas and Easter will forever be tied together in a Christian’s life. 

It is believed that Mary the mother of Jesus lived approximately fifteen years after Jesus was crucified.   I cannot imagine the pain she suffered when she saw him crucified or the joy she felt when He was resurrected and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.

I have never lost a child to death, but I have lost loved ones to death and I know there is a sense of lost you never get over, but eventually you find a way to be happy again.  I think the hope we were given by Jesus Christ for eternal life is what allows us as Christians to deal with death in a way that our happiness eventually returns. 

I will never forget the death of my mother.  We were very close and I always believed her death would be devastating to me and others thought the same.  When I found her dead that morning in her bed the first thing I did was pray that the Holy Spirit would give me courage, strength and wisdom to deal with her death. 

Much to my surprise her death was one of the easiest I have ever had to deal with.  My knowing that she was in a far better place was comforting and my belief in eternal life allowed me to hope that I would one day see her again.  I am not saying there were not times when I felt sad and lonely.

The greatest thing a Christian can do to encourage another Christian that has just experienced the death of a loved one is to encourage them to believe the life we have on earth is not the only life we will have.  Encourage them that one day they will see their loved one again.  Remind them that the problems of this world will never change, but heaven will be without sorrow, tears, stress and pain.  Please do not say, “I know how you feel, because you don’t, everyone deals with death differently.”

It will always be easier for Christians to deal with the death of a loved one if they will keep in mind the birth of Christ, the resurrection of Christ and the ascension of Christ. 

Paul wrote in 1^st Corinthians 15:54 – “… when our earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die – then at last the Scriptures will come true: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?”