"I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this Martha?"
"Many, if not most, people are afraid of dying. Some people fear being dead, while others are afraid of the actual act of dying. Many people's fear of death is tied into their religious beliefs, particularly if they happen to be going through a period of questioning. Some people think that they know what will happen after death, but worry that they may be wrong."
Well its raining here in Staten Island today...kind of gloomy out. But its not why I'm thinking about "death." It seems that many people that I love...have a lot of questions towards the topic sometimes. So I'm writing to try and bring some peace, from what I honestly believe, maybe even learned...from my personal journey with God.
Have you ever noticed how on the NEWS so many things pertain to death? We're always impressed by new medical DISCOVERIES, or preventions, or we hear about shootings, or traumas, or disasters, etc. etc. etc.
Sometimes "The News" can be depressing. But then again, it just depends on how you Look at It.
Do we ever look up and remember how small we are? How many of us have tons of questions in this life? We have so many things we want to understand...and yet, sometimes we don't get or find the answers...
But I believe that its so awesome to even look to God and ask the questions anyway. Just to remember that God cares about our all of our questions...and, doesn't judge our fears...
Because...we are all human. And we are all very very small.
And that helps remind us we have a very big God who wants to reach for us. And He does EVERY time.
Jesus reached for us. He reached out both His arms 'with a love that quiets all our FEARS'...He did everything to bring us back. But also to calm us and bring us peace on earth.
So when at the very beginning I posted a quote from Jesus...where He tells his friend she'll never die...if she will just trust Him...
Jesus came to bring us back...and He did it. Because we can have Life on earth. It begins NOW. And never ceases. A life with Great love. So in this life, whether we see everyone we love every day, or we have to call them or text them, or skype them...or the harder kinds that we can only talk to them the way we talk to God...we long to tell them how much we miss them. Because I do too...
And this thing we call "death"...isn't really death the way the world sees it.
Death seems to be a type of "physical" distance sometimes. I've witnessed many types of "deaths" in this life, sometimes its even a type of "death" representing a change in a persons' life. But the "ending of somebody's earthly life" kind of death, is one of the hardest types of death. All we can trust is that its not how we think it is.
So Jesus tells his friends, "I've got THIS. Do you believe me?"
That though we don't really understand it...its ok. He loves us and promises not to let us go. And "Death" is just a distance...until we SEE, in a physical sense, who we long to see again. And we will. So, until then we keep letting each and every one we love and miss know how much we miss them. Because I believe our Love crosses all distances and barriers...and I'm thankful for that.
Death was defeated. So even when its hard, and we hurt, we can still remember the Peace and Trust we have in Jesus. To SEE each person we love again...and all live together with our Great God. Its our Faith and promise of Hope.
(i miss and love you Nana and Granddaddy)
