Life In Christ
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" - John 11:25-26
Martha believed in the final resurrection of the dead but that day seemed far away. What she wanted right now was comfort for her heart. It was to this feeling in her heart, which many people who grieve over a loved one who has died, that Jesus spoke these wonderful words. His answer shows that He Himself is the bridge of life that unites the shores of eternity and time, filling up the dark void and bringing the resurrection and eternal life closer together.
The resurrection is not far away, for it is all in Christ's hands. When those that believe in Him die, they are really just asleep in Him. They are not really dead. In fact, those who believe in Him never die at all. What we call dying is only passing through the gate into the immediate presence of Christ. Christ has abolished death. To Him death was real and full of terrors. But because it was so terrible to Him, it is only an entrance of glory for His people. He absorbed the blackness and the gloom in His own soul, as He passed through the valley, and left its wake a trail of light for His followers.
If we could all get into our hearts the truth of the immortal life as revealed in the gospel, it would take away all the gloom from the graves of our dead. Those who live here are in Christ, and those who have 'died' are with Christ. Therefore in Him we are still united. There is only one family in Christ -- those who are alive on earth and those who have died.
The truth of eternal life is one of immense power when we have, even in the smallest way, realized it. Death is not the end of anything but of mortality, imperfection, and sin. Life goes on fuller, richer, nobler, with greater capacity, beyond the incident which we call death. We shall never die.
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