Seeing God's Faithfulness in the Shadow of GriefSýnishorn

Wynter’s passing came during a season of staggering loss for our extended family: including Wynter, five beloved family members passed unexpectedly within two years. Each death was painful for me, but losing Wynter was, of course, the hardest of all. But each passing served as a personal reminder that death is a reality that affects each of us. There’s beauty within it because when you really think about death, you begin to think about life differently.

Solomon spoke of this beauty when he said, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). Many people think of death as a final destination, and then live as if they’ll never die. But the Bible tells us that there is a life beyond this life and offers us the promise of the home we have always wanted to find.

In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul urged followers of Jesus to remember that someday our earthly body would pass away. His words are a call to take an inventory of our lives, as we consider how we might point others to Jesus, Savior and Lord of all:

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8).

It is easy, Paul is saying, for us to mistake this present world for our home. But it is only a temporary waystation on our journey to the place where we will be with God forever.

“We sorrow but not as those who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Sometimes it may feel like God wasn’t there when we needed Him most. That He was absent or that He made a bad call. But as Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). Jesus never makes a mistake. The pain of loss is understandable, but our loss is not the end of the story.

Living in light of eternity will give you a better perspective for today, tomorrow and forever. I encourage you to play the long game.