By Gregory Meyer
March 24, 2016
I originally planned to spend this blog post as a launching point for a multi-blog series on the creation and process behind The Seekers and the Hidden, my soon-to-be-released contribution to the Bron/Calea side of our novel series. Yet given what’s gone on in my life as of late, I decided to postpone it and talk about life.
See, my grandmother passed away this month after battling cancer. She was a strong and beautiful woman, and watching cancer rapidly deteriorate her health was difficult to watch. Yet through it all she stayed positive and feisty to the very end, and I’m proud of her for not allowing her condition to rule her spirit.
During the funeral, I got to see my extended family and all of the lives that she touched. We celebrated her life together in a beautiful ceremony, and I know she would’ve been happy with how everything was done. Afterwards, we shared stories about her, the things she would say, and laugh at her little quirks.
I know one day I will see her again, rejoicing, healthy, and cancer-free. This is the hope that we have as believers in Jesus Christ. Death is the end of this life, but not of the next.
During the Easter season, I make it a habit to read through all four Gospels. Every time I reach the point of the Last Supper, the emotions kick in, or as the kids say these days, “the feels.” While reading Jesus’ last words and moments with His disciples, you can feel the urgency of Jesus pouring every ounce of wisdom and comfort to his followers as the crucifixion looms ominously in the background.
I can’t even imagine the feeling of despair the disciples must’ve went through during the period between Jesus’s burial and resurrection. While the disciples had seen Jesus bring people back from the dead, it was through the healing of a living person. Jesus was gone, and their lives were in a terrible limbo with no idea what to do next.
But the grave could not hold Him forever. The tomb is empty, and Jesus lives.
As of late, I’ve seen pictures comparing Jesus and the Norse gods. On one side, it says (I’m paraphrasing) “Your god died on a cross, mine defeated the ice giants. Whose god is stronger now?” It’s part of this new trend to disparage Jesus and what He stands for in the face of “warrior gods” and modern secularism.
While we still experience a physical death, Jesus came and defeated death after experiencing it Himself. Because of this, we have no reason to fear death, though we still feel grief when our loved ones pass away. For once we pass this life, we experience an everlasting life with our Savior, who was before time began and who will be when it ends.
“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
-Hebrews 12:1b-2
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