The Promise of Eternal Life

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.

1 Thessalonians 4:14  

Not only did God grant us eternal life through the death and resurrection of His son - but He also gave us comfort and peace when someone close to us passes from this life into the next. Having grown up in the Christian faith, I had just accepted the church’s teachings without really thinking too deeply about them. This was especially true of anything related to death.

It just wasn’t a subject I wanted to deal with until the unexpected death of my son earlier this year. After going back and forth through many of the stages of grief, I began to truly meditate on God’s promise of eternal life and better understand what a great gift it is. I began to feel a sense of peace and comfort knowing that my son was safely and peacefully in God’s hands.

This doesn’t take away the pain of loss, but whenever that grief overcomes me, I again remember God’s promise to us and am comforted by that. Only when we are able to truly understand God’s promise in the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus, can we begin to experience the peace beyond understanding of the promise of eternal life.

Lord, you have given us the greatest gift of all through the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to truly understand the magnitude of this gift and find comfort in the knowledge that we will all be with You through eternity. Amen.