If a man dies, shall he live again?

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“For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. (14:7) But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he? As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep. Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.(14:10-14)

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There is something about the passing of a loved one that sets our minds on eternity and causes us to contemplate our own mortality. In an instant Job lost ten children. He must have wondered if he would ever see them again. His mind wanders and wonders about those that were so very dear to him. When Ellen, my first wife, died I daily pondered what it would be like to be reunited with her in heaven. It is so hard to let go when your heart is encompassed by grief.

In these few sentences Job expresses what many of us wrestle with. Each of us struggles with our own mortality and the finite nature of our physical existence. Some people believe that they are immortal and will survive death in some fashion. Ye many live in a way that testifies to their belief that this life is all there is. People in pain, grieving people, are confronted with their loss every day and so want another opportunity to see their loved ones again.

Lord, help grieving people to know that eternal life can begin this side of the grave through a spiritual birth.

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