One of the wonderful things about the book of Genesis, and the Bible as a whole, is how raw it is. We see this in Jacob’s response when his sons told him Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for days – this was expected. But when all his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, he refused. Instead, he was determined to carry his grief all the way to the grave. This is how death affects people. Apart from the Gospel, this is how death would affect us; death would be a crushing blow, leaving us without hope.

Since Christ has gone before us in death and has “put death to death,” we can respond differently, especially when it comes to grieving the death of a fellow believer. Death does not have the final word. Death is not victorious. We grieve death, but not without hope; we do not mourn the way the world mourns (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Instead, we grieve with the hope and assurance that death is a temporary separation; this separation will be removed for good when Christ returns.

• How do you tend to see death, through the world’s lens or the Gospel’s?