Ecclesiastes 3:11
(NIV): “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
My cousin Kevin died of a heart attack about three years ago. It was sudden and unexpected and tragic. My wife, Ruth, was talking with his wife, Diane, shortly after about what it’s been like for her. Diane said some profound things in response.
“God gave me two things to hang on to: God’s got this, and Heaven is closer than we realize.”
We just got word earlier today that Diane passed away. She had been diagnosed with terminal cancer about three weeks ago and was told she had only days or weeks to live. Her words to Ruth turned out to be prophetic. Heaven was closer than she thought. She is now reunited with Kevin.
In my line of work, I am often confronted with death when asked to officiate memorial services. Each time I get that call I am forced to think about heaven and eternity. Trying to wrap my head around either makes my head hurt. Our finite brains are not made to comprehend eternity, and yet there is something in our hearts that longs for it.
“If there isn’t life after death how does my life on earth have meaning?”
I grieve the loss of Kevin and Diane deeply. The Bible says, however, that I don’t need to grieve as if there is no hope. Because Jesus died and rose from the dead, he offers us a chance for eternity with Him and our loved ones. That gives our life on earth meaning.
