The End

By Lori Scharf

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“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.’” (John 11:25-26, ESV)

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3, ESV)

This past week we held my grandpa’s funeral in my hometown. It was a beautiful service. I laughed. I cried. And most importantly I got some of the closure I needed.

Little did I know, the same day my friend and fellow student from the Young Writer’s Workshop passed away from cancer, the same disease that took my grandpa.

Loss is hard. I can’t even say how hard it is because it will affect you forever.

It’s hard to go on with your daily life knowing that someone you knew and loved isn’t there anymore. Knowing that everything you do and experience, they’ll never have the chance to again.

Many students over on the YWW community have expressed their pain and sympathy, both for the death of my grandpa and our fellow student, K. There is one message that stands out that I keep hearing over and over:

Death is not the end.

God never intended death in the first place. He created us as perfect, eternal beings. Yet He allows death as a reminder of our fallen state and to work his will in our lives.

Does that mean I never wonder why God had to take someone from me, especially someone so young and beautiful as K? No.

Does that lessen the pain I feel losing someone? No.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)

What does help is knowing that death is never the end of the story.

We held an open mic at my grandpa’s funeral, an opportunity for people to come and share memories of him. What struck me was the amount of impact he made and is still making through his work in teaching and ministry. Him simply living for God in a world that is not made a lasting impact on the world.

The same goes for K. There is no end to the posts from students expressing just how inspired they were by K’s faith, joy, and gratitude in all circumstances. #LiveLikeK is in almost every post about her.

For my grandpa and K, death is not the end. They had faith, and are now in the arms of Jesus.

You see, we are still eternal beings, just like we were in the beginning. We all will die to this Earth one day, and be passed from one world to the next. The only difference now is we are born destined to spend that eternity in hell. That’s why Jesus came to bear our sins and die an awful death, so that we could choose to spend eternity with Him instead! This is the eternity we are made for. Life in heaven, in the presence of God.

Death is not the end for any of us. For Christians, it is truly only the beginning.

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, ESV)

I have the hope that one day, I will see my grandpa and K in heaven. Do you?

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4, ESV)