Life After Death

Foreword

As an Anglican priest I frequently conduct funerals, but I seldom have an opportunity to attend funerals conducted by people of other churches. Yesterday was an exception however. It was the funeral of a young mother whose teenage son is a member of our youth club. She had died suddenly and tragically in a car crash on her way to a pre-Christmas office party. As she began driving up the rise of a steep hill outside Cheltenham, a car from the other direction pulled out from its line of traffic into her lane, struck her car at a great speed and killed her and her passenger instantly. Her husband and children were suddenly transported from the joys of Christmas into the grief and despair of tragedy. And all they could ask was, “Why? Why? Why did it have to happen?”

The funeral service was led by a woman Major of the Salvation Army, and I was especially struck by the fact that as different as it was from an Anglican funeral the basic message was much the same: we do not know all the answers, but there are two things that we do know. God did not cause the tragedy, so we cannot blame Him for that. Yet when tragedy came God immediately stepped in and took this young woman to Himself, and is also with us now to give His strength and comfort to those who mourn.

In every Christian church this is the basic message, for it is a fundamental part of the Good News of Christ: “Oh death where is thy victory; oh grave where is thy sting?” Yet I find that most people today seem unable either to hear or accept it. To them the Christian belief that there is hope even in the midst of our deepest grief sounds either patronizing or impertinent. At best it may be just a bit of wishful thinking in which we may be allowed to indulge in from time to time. The idea that hope is possible actually sounds repugnant to some people for it detracts them from the proper mourning which the person who has died deserves. It seems wrong to allow anyone or anything to minimize their grief.

There are others who desperately reach out for some kind of solace but see no reason for accepting the Christian belief in life after death, nor do they have any very substantial idea of what such a life might be. They would grasp at any real hope, but have been unable to find any sign of such hope which they can honestly accept. I believe that such people would thankfully accept the Christian understanding of death and resurrection if only they understood what it was really all about, and it is for them that I have written this small book. If it helps even one person see that there really can be joy in the midst of grief and hope in times of despair, I shall be more than satisfied.