The prospect of death

"How do you comfort someone whose loved one just died?" I asked the seventy-something Welsh preacher as we waited for people who'd be coming to the weekly dorm fellowship.

Kuya Dave turned to me, "I've been to many funerals before and preached in a number of them..."

"And what do you say?"

He motioned me to pay attention, looking at me with a sense of urgency, as if the previous lines we told each other were but a prelude to what he was about to say.

"I tell them the three G's—grief, gratitude, and gladness. We grieve with the family; Jesus did that (John 11:35). Then, we give gratitude to the Lord for the life that person shared with us. And, if the person who died knew Christ personally, we celebrate with gladness because he is now in heaven with Him."

"But if he wasn't a Christian?"

"We challenge the family to be assured of their salvation, to hope in the promises of Christ Himself (John 11:25) who gives eternal life to anyone who trusts in Him."