Hope, at times, can feel fragile, no more so than when we deal with death, but Christians can face death with hope. The Bible says so many wonderful things about the death of a Christian. Perhaps none more are more wonderful than this:

The death of his faithful ones is valuable in the Lord’s sight. —Psalm 116:15

Why would the death of a saint (anyone who believes in Jesus) be “valuable” to the Lord?

When people come to know Jesus and believe in Him, receiving the abundant forgiveness He offers, no sin they commit will keep them from heaven. In Romans 8:35–39, we read:

Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword? As it is written: Because of you, we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How do verses such as these encourage your faith and build your hope?

On the authority of God’s Word, we can say that right now, our loved ones who died following Christ are in His presence in heaven.

But how can we be so sure?

Second Corinthians tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (5:8). And on the Cross, Jesus looked at the thief dying next to Him – the one who had expressed faith in Him – and said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Just before his death, the great preacher Dr. F.B. Meyer wrote these words to a close friend: “I have just heard, to my great surprise, that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this reaches you, I shall have entered the palace. Don’t trouble to write. We shall meet in the morning.” And Dr. William Carey, the great father of modern missions, wrote in his biography, “When I am gone, say nothing about Dr. Carey. Speak about Dr. Carey’s Savior.”

For the believer, death means entering immediately into the glorious presence of Christ. But we must not think that all the past blessings with our loved ones are gone when their death comes. No, the memories linger, and more than that, the person who listens to the Gospel, repents of sin, and turns to Christ in personal trust lives beyond physical death. Indeed, many of us have had to muster up those words, “Goodbye for now.” But under much better circumstances, we can say “Good morning” when we’re called to see Jesus and our loved ones face to face. How can this be? Who gives victory over death? Who makes it possible for our sins to be forgiven? Who takes away the power of evil and grants life everlasting? The answer is this: God’s Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

How does the Resurrection allow us to face death with hope?

When have you seen believers demonstrate this belief? What can you learn from them?

What holds you back from living your life with this same confidence? Why?