Saturday, February 25, 2017
Dear family of Michelle Alford
It seems so unfair that death should have the power to take away someone so young you love. And when it happens, the thought of never again being able to talk to, laugh with, or hold your loved one can be most difficult to bear. That pain is not necessarily erased by being told that your loved one is up in heaven.
The Bible, however, holds out a much different hope. As we have previously noted, the Scriptures indicate that it is possible to be reunited with your dead loved one in the near future, not in an unknown heaven but right here on earth under peaceful, righteous conditions. And at that time humans will have the prospect of enjoying perfect health, and they will never have to die again. ‘But surely that is wishful thinking!’ some may say.
What would it take to convince you that this is a sure hope? To believe in a promise, you would need to be certain that the one making the promise is both willing and able to fulfill it. Who, then, is it that promises that the dead will live again?
Can we really believe the resurrection promise? Yes, there is no doubt that God and his Son are both willing and able to fulfill it. What does this mean for you? You have the prospect of being reunited with dead loved ones right here on earth but under very different conditions!
God, who started mankind off in a lovely garden, has promised to restore Paradise on this earth under the rule of His heavenly Kingdom in the hands of the now glorified Jesus Christ. ( Matthew 6:10; “ Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth” ) In that restored Paradise, the human family will have the prospect of enjoying life without end, free from all sickness and disease. (Revelation 21:1-4; “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. 2 I saw also the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. 4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away. Gone, too, will be all hatred, racial prejudice, ethnic violence, and economic oppression. It will be into such a cleansed earth that God through Jesus Christ will resurrect the dead.
We engage in this activity because we are genuinely interested in our neighbors. Our work is not commercial. It is our hope that someday soon we will be able to talk to you personally. Please go to JW.org for words of encouragement
Sincerely,
Roberta L..
