The Gospel and the Graveyard

            Yesterday was a particularly bittersweet day for my family. Yesterday morning we went to church to worship and to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. We sang songs that recounted His marvelous gospel. We read Scripture’s that exalted Jesus and His mighty work. We heard biblical teaching about the implications of the resurrection. Our hearts were moved to worship our great Savior. However, it was also a difficult day for my family. On November 2, 2009 my wife’s oldest brother, “Bucky”, died suddenly. He was a healthy 27-year-old man with no real health issues. He thought he had contracted the flu and went to the doctor to get some medicine. However, it was not the flu but rather a rare condition around his heart that took his life. It was incredibly sad then and it is incredibly sad now. Yesterday was exceptionally hard because it would have been his 30^th birthday.

            After lunch was over and the Easter baskets were opened we decided to go to the cemetery to see the flowers on Bucky’s grave. When we walked up and saw his headstone we were overwhelmed with the sadness that comes from losing a loved one. I looked at the flowers and the knick-knacks that peppered his tomb. In that moment of grief I noticed a small plague leaning against his headstone that said, “the Lord IS returning.” At that moment, as my heart was filled with pain for my wife and her family, I also experienced deep-seated joy. Please don’t misunderstand my heart was still weighed down with sadness, but deep inside of me I could feel the hope that can only come from the Lord. It was there in that painful moment that the impact of Easter truly set in. I turned Jennie and said,” if it were not for Easter, all of this would be for nothing. If it were not for His resurrection, there would be no resurrection for us.” I saw in here eyes pain mingled with joy. We both stopped and reflected on the resurrection. If Jesus would have never risen from the tomb then we would be altogether hopeless. If it were not for His resurrection, there would be no hope for Bucky and the hundreds of other Christians buried in that cemetery.  Yet, the glorious news of Easter is that Jesus did rise from that tomb and He did make a way for men to inherent eternal life! Not only that but He has promised that He is coming again and when He does this graveyard will be ripped apart as His children meet Him in the air! Since the Christ resurrected from the tomb, all those who are known by Him will likewise resurrect!

            I cannot convey to you the feelings of yesterday. The pain of loss is great and it is lingering. Our human minds daydream about what could have been. We are constantly bewildered by the maliciousness of death. However, even in the depths of our despair we know that hope is not lost. We know that in spite of what we can see, hope is all around. For nothing can separate us from the love of God, not death, not pain, not loneliness. We know that the love we have found in Jesus Christ is stronger than our feelings, and that His love will outlast our graves. We can take heart knowing that the Jesus who conquered death is the Jesus that is our King. Though we are pressed on every side we will not be overcome. For we have a Savior who has shut the gates of hell for His children and paved the way into the arms of God Himself.

We will suffer loss. We will eat bitter tears. We will long for another time where death is defeated and pain is forgotten. We will strive for answers that cannot be known.  We will feel the pain of a cursed world. But we will not be overcome. We will not be overtaken. We will not be left alone. We have Jesus. If all else is lost, our King remains. That ancient King who created the universe with His words. That ancient King who came to earth as the God-Man. That ancient King who crushed the serpent’s retched head. That ancient King who was slain for the sins of man. That ancient King who trampled over death and came bursting out of the tomb. It is because of that King that we have any hope and all. It is because of that King that we have all the hope in the world!

            We will continue to grieve for Bucky while we are here on the earth. We will continue to combat sadness and pain. But we know that because Jesus Christ is alive, Bucky is too! When this age is passed and this world is no more, one thing will remain; Jesus Christ and His gospel. I am certain that when we see Bucky again we will weep, but this time for joy. We will remember that the only reason we meet again is because of Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead! Let us make much of Jesus in this age, and in the age to come!