QUOTES AND WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT ON DEATH

God has the last word on death. And, if you listen, he will tell you the truth about your loved ones. They've been dismissed from the hospital called Earth. You and I still roam the halls, smell the medicines, and eat green beans and Jell-O off plastic trays. They, meanwhile, enjoy picnics, inhale springtime, and run through knee-high flowers. You miss them like crazy, but can you deny the truth? They have no pain, doubt, or struggle. They really are happier in Heaven. And you won't see them soon? When you drop your kids off at school, do you weep as though you'll never see them again? When you drop your spouse at the store and park the car, do you bid a final forever farewell? No. When you say, "I'll see you soon," you mean it. When you stand in the cemetery and stare down at the soft, freshly turned earth and promise, I'll see you soon, you speak truth. Reunion is a splinter of an eternal moment away. There is no need for you to "grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV) So go ahead, face your grief. Give yourself time. Permit yourself tears. God understands. He knows the sorrow of the grave, He buried his son. But He also knows the joy of resurrection. And, by his power, you will too.- Max Lucado From Facing Your Giants and the chapter entitled Unspeakable Grief

"It is right for us to weep, but there is no need for us to despair. They had pain here. They have no pain there. They struggled here. They have no struggles there. You and I might wonder why God took them home. But they don't. They understand. They are, at this very moment, at peace in the presence of God." Max Lucado

Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. Anonymous

The only difference in death between a Christian and one who is not is that the Christian is ready to meet Jesus. A Christian is dead already - dead to the world, but alive to Christ. Death for you as a child of God is to fall asleep in His arms and awake in the other world, alive forever beyond the power of pain, safe forever from all sickness and suffering. Winkie Pratney Ministry of Helps

Some day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal- a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body. Dwight L Moody

When death has been brought upon a saint, we ought not to think that an evil has happened to him or her, but a thing indifferent, which is an evil to a wicked person, while to the good it is rest and freedom from evils. John Cassian

It is a precious thing beyond all words - especially in the hour of death - that we have a God whose nature is such that what pleases Him is not our work for Him but our need for Him. John Piper

Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death- Chuck Swindoll 

Meanwhile, we on this dying Earth can relax and rejoice for our loved ones who are in the presence of Christ. As the apostle Paul tells us, though we naturally grieve at losing loved ones, we are not “to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Our parting is not the end of our relationship, only an interruption. We have not “lost” them, because we know where they are. They are experiencing the joy of Christ’s presence in a place so wonderful that Christ called it Paradise. And one day, we’re told, in a magnificent reunion, they and we “will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18).” -Randy Alcorn

One of the greatest gifts we can give people is the hope that their death is nothing to fear- you know, not that it has no fear in it, but the promise of scripture is that God will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death- Max Lucado