One day when my son was little, I tried to convince him to go backwards in age instead of growing up. In his most serious, let-me-explain-this-to-you voice, he said, “You can’t do that. You can only be each age one time, and then you die.”
I remember being surprised that he would talk so matter-of-factly about death – even his own. But in the mind of a young child, death seemed far away. He still had decades of birthdays to check off before he got there. He hadn’t yet felt the sting of the death of someone close to him or the fear of a life-threatening diagnosis that could cut those years short.
As we walk through life in a fallen world, we can’t escape the reality of death. Just this week, our church family has grieved sudden losses that impacted two of our extended families. Sin, sickness, and death can steal many things from us – relationships, livelihoods, plans, and dreams – and that’s been startlingly clear this past year.
In our heartbreak, we crave a hope that can survive the pain of death. And we have such a hope in our risen Savior, Jesus Christ:
“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1:3b-4)
Death is rendered powerless by our living hope, because Jesus holds the keys of death and hell (Revelation 1:18). God, in His great mercy, has given us new life here and eternal life in heaven through the resurrection of Jesus. Our living hope fills us with joy and peace, and it assures us of a heavenly inheritance that can never be taken away.
In a world filled with decay, deterioration, and disappointment, we can look forward to an inheritance kept in heaven for us that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Even when we can’t escape the pain of grief, our hope isn’t dead. We have a living hope, because our hope is found in the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
No matter what you face this week, cling to the living hope you have in Jesus Christ.
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