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Dear Nadeen (not the real name of the child),
We are sorry to hear that your grandmother has died. At the moment, no doubt, you do miss her and talk about what she used to do with and for you all. We hope that in due course, you will recover from the sad effects of her death although you will still remember her.
The Bible, God’s good and reliable letter to us, explains about life and death. The Bible talks about God creating the universe and us (1, 2). Because of this, God knows what we are like and says that we have three parts to us which are: spirit, soul and body (3). What is a body? It is likened to a tent or house (4) in which a person lives. So the body is the outside part of you, which you and others can see and feel, and in it lives the soul and spirit (5) which are the real you. The soul is that part of us which wants to understand (6) and do things (7), and loves (8), and can feel sorry for itself and get upset (9, 10). It has more to do with the body. The spirit understands more about God (11, 12). The soul and the spirit are seen as being like one another (13).
So what is death? Death happens when the soul and the spirit leave the body and go on to the next life which is sometimes called the life after death (14, 15). There is then no life in the body which stops working. After a person has died their body is put into a long wooden or wicker casket, called a coffin, and there is a funeral service. After this, the coffin might be buried in the ground, or it might be burned (this is called cremation). Either way, the body’s pre-death or original use is finished, and so we dispose of it in a respectful way (16).
But why do we die and what happens to the soul and spirit of a person at death? While death is a normal thing, because everyone will die, it is not a natural thing. When God finished creating the world we read that it was “very good” (17). So how can the fact of a number of bad things around, including death, be explained? Romans c5v12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man {Adam} sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Man’s disobedience to God, as seen in Genesis c3, brought in sin, suffering and death, not only on himself but, because everyone sins, death also comes to everyone. Sin is thinking, saying and doing what is wrong.
The amazing thing is that God did not want to leave us in that condition. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten (or unique) Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God’s great love for the world lead Him to send His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world so that He might take the punishment for our sins (18). Therefore God is able to forgive all those that trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour (19), give them eternal life (20) and a home in heaven (21).
What is heaven like? We are not told a lot about heaven but we are told that it is a place where the Lord Jesus is and it is “far better” than earth (22). It is beyond the sky (23) and is a happy place (24) where there is no pain or sorrow or crying or death (25) and it will go on forever (26). Children, teenagers and adults who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour will be there (27 & 28). All people in heaven will be perfect and far better than the best that they have been on earth. This is one reason why the apostle Paul could say that, whilst he wanted to be alive on earth with his friends, he also wanted to be in heaven with the Lord Jesus, and was not afraid of dying because he had trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ to save him from his sins (29).
Kind Regards,
The Fellowship at Ross Road Gospel Hall
BIBLE REFERENCES
(1) Genesis chapter (c )1-2
(2) Colossians c1verse (v)16 “For by him {v13 the Son of God, Jesus Christ} were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”
(3) 1st Thessalonians c5v23 {written to Christians} “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(4) 2 Peter c1v14 “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle {a special tent in the Old Testament}, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has shewed me.”
(5) 2nd Corinthians c5v1-2 {written to Christians} “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.”
(6) Psalm 139v14 “I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are your works; and that my soul knows right well.”Christ has shewed me.”
(7) Deuteronomy c11v13 “And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,”
(8) Deuteronomy c6v5 “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
(9) Psalm 42v6 “O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember you from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.”
(10) Numbers c21v4 “And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.”
(11) Romans c1v9 “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;”
(12) Romans c8v16 {written to Christians} “The Spirit {of God} itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”
(13) Hebrews c4v12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
(14) Genesis c35v18 “And it came to pass, as her {v16 Rachel’s} soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father {Jacob} called him Benjamin.”
(15) James c2v26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
(16) Matthew c14v12 “And his {v10 John the Baptist’s} disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.”
(17) Genesis c1v31 “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
(18) 1 Corinthians c15v3-4 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
(19) Acts c13v38 “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man {v33, 37 Jesus Christ} is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.”
(20) Romans c6v23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
(21) John’s Gospel c14v2-3 “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
(22) Philippians c1v23-24 “For I am in a strait betwixt two {or I am pressed between two}, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide {remain in} in the flesh is more needful for you.”
(23) 1 Thessalonians c4v16 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:”
(24) Jude c1v24 {written to Christians} “Now unto him {v25 God or Saviour} that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,”
(25) Revelation c21v4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
(26) 2 Corinthians c5v1 “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
(27) Luke 18:16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer {or allow} little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
(28) Acts c16v31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.”
We only die once and do not come back again to this life. Hebrews c9v27-28 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
(29) Philippians c1v23-24 quoted at (22)
(We think that some good advice about how children and teenagers react to death, and can be helped to cope with it, is on www.barnardos.org.uk).