Q1 – Death and Grief
Death touches all of us. Christians are not immune from death, and we all wonder about it, especially as it gets nearer. Nor are we immune from grief. All we know is what we’ve known in this life, in this world, as it is right now. And when we lose people from this life, or prepare to leave it behind ourselves, we are understandably touched with sadness.
The Bible recognizes that death is real, and that grief is real.
Q2 – Life After Death?
Most of what the Bible tells us is about future resurrection, but many people wonder about what happens at the moment of death, and what’s happening with their loved ones now. There are only a couple of passages that give explicit clues about life immediately after death—what many refer to as the “intermediate state” because it comes between our death and the final “day of Christ.”
The first clue comes in Luke’s account of Jesus’ death on the cross (Luke 23:42-43). As Jesus was being crucified, one of the criminals who was being put to death along with him made a simple request (we might call it a simple prayer) to Jesus: “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”