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What would life be like without God? Without God we would have no eternal hope. Death would be the end! What would life be like if that was the situation, if there was no eternal life?
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable," stated Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:19, in answer to the view that there was no resurrection from the dead.
One of the things the Bible tells us about God is that He can give life to the dead (Romans 4:17). This, perhaps, is the first thing we need to know about God. Certainly if not the first, then it is one of the first. Not only does God love us, but he is also able to give life to the dead. If God loved us, but was not able to give life to the dead, where would that leave us? Yet again, in a pitiable and miserable state (1 Corinthians 15:19).
The fact that He can give life to the dead was one of the first lessons God taught Abraham. It is recorded in the book of Genesis; (Genesis 18:9-15). There, even though both Sarah and Abraham were old and past childbearing, God rejuvenated their bodies, so much so that Sarah was taken into a harem (Genesis 20:1 - 18), and later had a child (Genesis 21:1-7).
In spite of all this, and more, humanity naturally fears death and we often face death, both our own and that of those whom we love, with a mixture of diverse emotions. However, the Bible tells us that, "In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purposes" (Romans 8:28). That being the case, what good does God work in death? What good does God work in the lives of those who have suffered the loss of a loved one?
In this publication the author deals with these two effects: the emotions we have when faced with death and the good God can bring out of death. |
