“But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.” – Jesus Christ
When people die, we are often tempted to speak of them in the past tense. But God speaks of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the present tense long after their deaths, and Jesus uses this to point out that they are still very much alive, even if they are in a different place. This weekend Seth’s grandfather, Robert Peach, went to his reward in Heaven. We are confident that although we won’t see him on earth anymore, he is still very much alive. We don’t have this confidence because of the good things he did; such as serving in WWII, being one of the first to develop quality standards for companies, or loving and leading in his family and church faithfully throughout his life. When standing before a just God, even a list of good like Grandpa’s is still a long way from the perfection God’s justice requires. But we are confident, and this confidence for those who trust in Christ is summed up by Paul in Ephesians chapter two:
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
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