The Grief Thieves
By - Casper Rigsby
Comfort Like a Burning Blanket
Growing up I attended a lot of funerals, what with my grandfather being a
minister and me spending a great deal of time with him. My grandfather has
offered more eulogies than I can possibly remember and each one was a
heartfelt outpouring to the memory of the deceased and the family left
behind. But I'll tell you right now that my grandfather has never told
someone that their loved one is "in a better place." You see, that man read
his bible - read it so much he could quote most scripture from memory. He
never told anyone that phrase because, biblically speaking, it simply isn't
true. The biblical truth is that the bible is rather clear that no man shall
enter heaven until after the day of judgment. The reality is that dead is
almost never a better place than alive.
A lot of people seem to be comforted by the theologically false idea that
their loved ones go straight to heaven when they die. Most people have
probably never even really given it any thought, and have always just
accepted the platitudes. After all, it's so much easier to deal with the grief of
losing your child to cancer if you can just believe they're up in heaven
looking down on you.... right? Ask any parent that's lost a child and I
guarantee that such sentiments often only sharpen the pain and have all the
comfort of an eternally burning blanket wrapped around their shoulders. The
thought of your child in heaven pales in comparison to the thought of your
child in your arms. For any parent who loves their child it's hard to imagine
any better place for them than in our care and showered with our love and
affection. There's no consolation prize that takes the pain of that loss away
or that can deaden it in the least.
All You Know About Me is What I Sold You
I won't quote a bunch of scripture for you here. If you want to actually read
what the bible says on this matter, a simple Google search will confirm that
there are several interpretations of what the bible says. Instead, what I'll
offer you is simple logic: Jesus said he would return to judge all mankind.
P a g e | 250