Have you ever lost a loved one? How did you feel? Did you desire to see the person again, even for a few minutes and for the last time? What would you give or do to see him/her again?

Life without our loved ones-friends and family is a waste. It is full of loneliness and disgust. Everyone needs someone to hold and to love; to cherish and to be cherished. Some people are even so lovely that you can’t not live without them. So, what is the meaning of life if death is our end? Why should we even bother to love, care, or live, if after we die we just fade away?

Each time I see an obituary, I am filled with empathy. “Such a young chap”, I’d say. Or “So he’s gone”, if he were old. I hardly find it easy to contain my concern when I read an obituary or hear that someone is dead, sometimes. And I think we all need to be concerned about our future. Because this future is for us all.

We engage ourselves laboriously to gain material wealth. We gain accolades, medals, awards and several laurels. We build houses, legacies and names for ourselves. But on the long run, we lose it to death. Is there a meaning to all this if death ends all?

Sometimes, I reminisce about the people who have once held the world spell bound by their lives. When they spoke, the world listened; when they sang, we swung to their rhythm; when they sneezed, the world caught cold. Stalin, Hitler, Michael Jackson, Mandela, Elvis Presley, Sanni Abacha, and a host of others. All affected the world in their own rights. But they are all dead. What did they struggle for? Yes, we may apportion eulogies to their names, or condemn them; they may live in our memories, but should they fade like the stars in the early morning?

I have lost two loved ones and each time I felt like I was dreaming. In fact, when I lost my closest uncle in 2006, I was so shaken that even now, I don’t go to Lagos state because he was my reason for going there. Although, I still have other family members there, I am never moved to go there. He occupied a place in my heart. Is there a certainty that I’ll see him again?

Life is a paradox – you here today and tomorrow you are gone. What really is the meaning of life? I watched Bob Marley’s funeral on YouTube a while ago – I saw a grown man weep like a child as the vehicle carrying his remains drove past him. I don’t think there is any generation that hasn’t listened to his songs since his life, but despite that he’s gone. What is the meaning of life, if we are to live and die?

Thank God there is hope beyond death. John 11:25-26 says:

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Any time a speaker speaks with certainty, we know he is sure of what he says. If you speak and you aren’t sure about the topic, you use probably, may be or other words that express your uncertainty about it. But here Jesus spoke with certainty and further in the chapter, he demonstrated it by bringing Lazarus back to life. Imagine how happy and relieved Mary and Martha would be. Imagine yourself in such situation.

This is what Christ offers humans, life beyond the grave. I know many worldviews teach that at death the soul will reincarnate. Is that not harsh? How preposterous to think that after untoward years of hardship, one could reincarnate as a goat or one stupid life form! It’s really disappointing to think that I could end up being a goat. Some are even not sure of their eternal future.

Jesus gives not a chance, but a hundred percent assurance of life in bliss after death, and a perfect reunion for those we loved who died in Him. In fact, He tells us that those who die in Him are not dead, but sleeping. John 11:11. When He died on the cross, the Bible records that those saints who died in God rose up and went to their loved ones. What a reunion! What is the chance it just happened perchance or the probability of it happening again according to science? But it will happen again according to the words of Jesus.

… To Be Continued.