If you’re looking for a great DVD, go and borrow ‘In America’ (http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/inamerica/).
This beautiful tale of an Irish family who moved to America deals with the issues of grief and spirituality in a profoundly emotional, yet non-manipulative fashion.
Amidst the laughter and the tears, the issue of life-after-death often arises. The bereaved family members are confident that their child has gone to heaven, and some even continue to speak and make requests to the little boy.
As the credits rolled I felt sad that the hope these people shared had no basis in the truth… that only those in Christ Jesus Christ will rise with him to new life after death. Sadly, the world is full of people who are sincere in their faith, but are sincerely wrong.
In what can we truly hope? “In God’s great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time”. 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)
Buy or borrow the movie… it really is a wonderful story. But trust in the only one who has conquered death, giving us a living hope!