Welcome to another episode of “Blessing Sunday”. Participating along with me are:
Abbey Johnson Taylor
and
Lynda Lambert
who shared the idea with me.

This Sunday I’m writing about something that’s not often talked about among Christians. It’s a concept called “the communion of saints.” Husband Karl and I this past week both observed the anniversaries of the deaths of close family members. My grandma died on Jan 25, and Karl’s brother on Jan 30.

Heb 12:1 says, in part, “we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses”

Those who have died before us are not gone. When we worship God, our prayers join with theirs. Our love and God’s love join with their love. I find solace, when things feel messed up, that loved ones who’ve gone before us are still thinking about us, loving us, and praying for us, uniting in thanksgiving for God’s work on our behalf thus far, and in pleas that His full purposes will come to fruition. I’m also comforted by the knowledge that there will one day be a great reunion with loved ones, as well as with those we haven’t even met but are yet somehow kindred spirits. It’ll be the only chance I ever get to meet Jessica Fletcher–uh, I mean Angela Lansbury, after all. And Moses and Peter and Elijah and Paul and Jesus’s mom and too many others to mention.

So, although I still miss my grandma, and Karl likewise misses his brother, we are consoled because the separation isn’t entirely a separation. Our spirits are united in love, by God, and the absence we feel, when seen in the light of eternity, is a mere instant–not even enough to be consequential. Jesus said in His sermon on the mount that those who mourn will be blessed,because they’ll be comforted, and so we are, by the knowledge that love never fails and never dies.

It’s almost too wonderful to believe that God’s people, whether in the flesh or in the spirit, are united over space and time, but it’s true. I hope readers will find some measure of consolation by pondering this miraculous truth over the next week.