Another life?

The holidays are always compelling times for many reasons. First, regardless of religious tradition, they are a time of deep reflection and significant observances.

The holidays also tend to be the time of year when family and friends gather to renew their relationships and celebrate—or observe—their particular faith traditions. It’s that unique point in time when I think we get a glimpse of heaven.

Let me explain.

As a Christian, the holidays are a time when we celebrate the birth of the One who took on human form, suffered, died and rose again so that we would have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him. At its core, Christ’s mission was relational. His time on earth was often defined by loneliness, however: His suffering, His trial, His death all were essentially experienced alone.

Nevertheless, the transfixing and life-altering aspect of that mission was that the loneliness Christ suffered would no longer be mandatory for us; we now had a vision of what life in Christ would be.

Back to the holidays. Each year—if you are like most families—while you celebrate you are also in some ways mourning the loss of an aunt, a brother, a cousin or parent. As we grow older, those holiday celebrations are inevitably missing someone special. If you’re fortunate, those missing are not forgotten. Stories are regularly told and memories are shared of the one who has passed last year or last decade. It’s a time when lives are remembered and a glimpse of relational restoration is grasped—albeit only slightly.

The fact that we mourn and remember those who have passed on—to me—is a reminder that God created us for the restoration that is to come: where parents, siblings and friends will be reunited with those who have gone before. At once it’s a beautiful reminder and also one filled with longing for the age to come.