If it’s all a fiction spun by disappointed disciples, if it’s a mere symbol for the idea of an inner awakening, if it’s not a fact that Christ has been raised, then our grief and loss have no end, and we have no hope.

I think the problem with the idea of eternity is that we do not have any direct experience of it, but we encounter enough of its possibility to be unsettling.

While the world is full of horizons and endpoints, for Christians, there is always tomorrow, and there are people in that tomorrow waiting for us as we wait for them.

We ache in eager anticipation as we see Christ in action and as we take in the snapshots of his life, death, and resurrection.

The epistle text from Colossians 1 declares how the great drama of redemption and human history ends.

Carson Wayne Bird, father of Chad Bird, died on October 31. He was eighty-one years old. At a small, family gathering on November 4, Chad spoke these words to his mom, sister, and the other family members of Carson, who gathered to mourn and remember this beloved child of God.

We did not say “Goodbye” to our son on the day of his burial. We said, “Luke, we’ll see you soon.”

What the gospel promises is not escape from our humanity, but resurrection from the dead.

Salutary funeral preaching seeks to set the life of the baptized believer who has died within the life of Christ incarnate, crucified, risen, and reigning.

I want the beginning of my funeral to be focused on Jesus, as well as the middle, the end, and every point in between.

The gospel of Jesus’ coming out of death and the tomb alive so that we might be restored to our identity as God’s children establishes the most enduring reality there is.

Martha’s pain is not met by a to-do list. Jesus’ reply is not that she should try harder or change her behavior