Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes

I am convinced that neither death nor life... will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. -- Romans 8:38-39

As a pastor, I have found that it is little help to remind people in grief that their loved ones are now in heaven. Few of us doubt that. We know we will see our loved ones again in the next life. What we don't know is how to keep living in this life. It's the separation that is so hard.

When someone we cherish dies, we haven't just lost a relationship. We've lost a part of ourselves. It is as if a leg or an arm has been severed. Those who have experienced amputation describe what is called phantom pain, which means that even though the limb is missing, it still hurts. Grief is just like that. Raw nerves tell us that we should still have this cherished loved one in our lives, but now it is only the pain that is present.

Rather than burying this pain by staying busy, it is best simply to feel it. As you do, you'll eventually realize that what you have been missing is not just the person who died but the love you shared. That love came from Christ Jesus. He brought it down from heaven as a gift he was dying to give you. For a while the gift was wrapped in the person who has now died. But you get to keep the love. Forever. After Easter it has become clear that nothing, certainly not death, can ever separate you from love.

-- Craig Barnes