Today I learned that the father of one of my old friends lost his battle with cancer. My heart is heavy for the family's loss. As Christians, we have the hope of a future heavenly reunion, but still, death is hard. Hard because it is so final, complete, irreversible, and utterly unavoidable. ("Love's as strong as death, my love, unyielding as the grave."**) It is the terminal diagnosis for all humankind; so why do we resist it, deny it, ignore it? Fear perhaps. (Though perfect love drives out fear.) And maybe because deep down we know it is somehow unnatural. After all, we were created for life.
It is our love for others that makes death hard. It is God's love for us that makes it a bit easier to deal with. His love that conquered death, that brings us to new and everlasting life, that promises a future joy beyond imagination. In Christ we have a hope and a future. Praise God.
May the strong love of God enfold you, my friend, and keep you through this darkness.
**Rich Mullins "Canticle of the Plains"
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