Clinging to Hope in the Face of Death

Death is hard. Always hard.

Last night, my grandpa died. My dad's dad. 

He had been sick for a short while. But I always thought he would get better. I sort of brushed off my mom's update calls. Things were going to turn around. So I didn't tell anyone. 

Then my mom called with an update Monday night. She was going to the hospital, and she was bringing my dad. That's when I finally understood how serious this was; my dad, the man who avoids hospitals at all costs, was going to see his dad. My grandpa was dying. 

That night, my grandpa died.
The man who gave me my last name.
The man who drove little elementary schooler Kayla the 2.5 blocks to school when she had surgery on her foot and couldn't walk.
The man who instilled in me a love for family reunions and seeing extended family at the campgrounds.
The man who entrusted ten-year-old Kayla with his ancient Norwegian family history books so that she could show her class the generations of Norwegians before her.
The man who helped me go above and beyond assignment expectations in middle school by building with me.
The man who invited young teenager Kayla to finish a room in his basement by working on the ceiling and made sure everyone who saw the room knew she helped. He grinned during the entire story.
The man who created a massive collector's train village, and joyfully shared it with anyone willing to marvel at the magical creation. 
The man who believed that this year was the year for the Vikings to turn things around... Every year.
The man who always greeted me at his house with a warm surprised, "It's Kayla!" even if I just got off the phone with him to tell him I was walking over.
The man who made my sister and I laugh and laugh on Christmas Eve as he tore open his presents and held them with childlike joy and pride.
The man who consistently loved me well.
The man who made "grandpa" become a wonderful word in my world.
That man died.

And it seems unreal. Death is awful. I've cried a fair amount today. I will cry more this week, this month, this year. 

And no one quite knows what to say. Knowing what to say in the face of death is so hard. 

However, there are some truths that I have been clinging to in the face of life, and as I face the problem of death, I'm trying to tighten my grip on those truths. 

Truth #1: Grief is okay. It's allowed. 

There's a particular part of the Bible that has significantly shaped how I view death and grief. It's in John 11. 

Jesus has a friend named Lazarus. Jesus is also friends with Lazarus's sisters Martha and Mary. People come to tell Jesus that Lazarus is really sick and dying. Jesus doesn't immediately go, but he eventually arrives at their town. 

Lazarus is dead. He's been dead for four days. Martha went out to see Jesus. 

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[e] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?" (John 11:21-26, emphasis added)

Mary went out to see Jesus only after he called for her. The two women handled their grief differently. They interacted with Jesus differently. And then, Jesus joined them in their grief. He wept too.

Jesus knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He knew. But he still took time to weep over the death of his friend. Then Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead.

Truth #2: Jesus also rose from the dead. He defeated death. There is hope to be found in Jesus' resurrection as we face death.

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.5 He was seen by Peter[c] and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers[d] at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

Truth #3: Jesus was raised for the dead, and those who belong to Jesus will be raised from the dead when he comes back. He is coming back!

19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. (1 Corinthians 15:19-23, emphasis added)

Truth #4: Because death is not the end, because there will be a resurrection from the dead for those who belong to Jesus, we can grieve like people who have hope.

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died[f] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14) 

Because we have hope. We have a confident expectation in the power of Jesus and his resurrection.

Truth #5: Jesus is returning to the earth to make it new. He's bringing the heavens. It's all going to be new. And we will have bodies, new bodies, but still bodies. We will finally be fully human, the way we were meant to be.

35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. (1 Corinthians 15:35-43, emphasis added) 

And readers, today I get to rejoice knowing that my sweet, wonderful grandpa knew Jesus. That these truths were for him. That he is going to share in the resurrection from the dead. 

And I get to be invited to grieve, because I need to grieve. Yet, I get to grieve as one with hope. I hope (read: confidently expect) that Jesus will be faithful to his promise, that Jesus will return, that Jesus will forever defeat death, that I will experience that with my grandpa and all the others who belong to Jesus.

As I face this week, this death, this change, I'm clinging to that hope, to that life found in Jesus. 

If you want to know more of what it means to find life in Jesus, I would love to talk with you about it. Send me a message, and we can grab coffee, or chat over the internet while we drink coffee in our respective homes, whichever works.