EMBRACING OUR DEPARTED LOVED ONES

When you lose a loved one, you lose a part of your own life. All relationships become a part of the fibre of our life, just as we become a part of the fibre of the lives of those who love us. And when they die, no matter how elderly they were,  a part of our life is torn away. Always think of death like having an arm torn off. Such a precious part of our life is no longer touching, speaking and smiling at us. 

 

But the departed loved one does not disappear into thin air. They live on in eternal life. Now, we are not so presumptuous to think that heaven is automatic; you die and then you just move on into the eternal realm. That would be the sin of presumption. 

 

We pray that God calls the departed loved on into eternal life and eternal glory. We pray that our departed loved one is embraced with the open arms of the risen Jesus. Heaven becomes the final gift, the final action of a loving God towards us human beings. But it always is the action and movement of the Holy Trinity towards us.

 

Now in our theological language we have a wonderful way to describe the final journey of the faithful soul. We call this the “communion of saints.” We are all connected with and through the Holy Spirit to one another: the believing people on this earth and the ones who are called into glory. We are connected; we belong to one another.

 

This is why we are not afraid to ask our departed mother, who was a prayerful person, to intercede for us who are going through this tough time on earth. Perhaps you are having difficulty relating to your twenty some daughter, who you can see it moving into a very harmful lifestyle. You do not hesitate to call out to your departed mother, addressing her by name, and asking her to pray for this very difficult family situation.

 

Or maybe you just lost the thirty-some nephew through an overdose. You pray for him. You ask God, our triune God, to reach out to this very broken and suffering soul. Death, even such a tragic death, does not mean abandonment. Fortify his final journey with your prayers and your persistent love, even if he practiced such a destructive lifestyle.

 

During this month of November, we are encouraged to bring forward our departed loved ones. We are connected in the communion of saints. We hold them up in prayer and \ask that God grant them the fullness of eternal life.

 

While we are doing this prayer and enjoying our memories of the loved one, remind yourself that you are not meant to be on this earth for very long.  You are destined for eternal glory. You are destined for life, and life everlasting. There is so much more that awaits us as we bring to a close our time on this earth. 

As you pray for your departed loved one, be surrounded by the great plan of God. You are meant for a life much greater than the life you are living now. You are meant to shae the very life of God, in glory, and forever and ever!