Austin's Blog

The language I’ve used to describe Gabriel’s resting place has been intentionally chosen. A grave isn’t just a memorial; it is a sacred, holy place where someone has been planted as they await the resurrection. It is better to be with God than to remain in this sin-soaked world of suffering, sickness, and pain as it currently is. He is away from the body but present with the Lord. In that sense, where Gabe is buried is not just a grave—it is his future resurrection site. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 says, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”

Gabe’s soul or spirit is with the Lord right now, but his body is planted in the ground, awaiting a future resurrection where God will do to it and the whole world what He did to Jesus on the third day. David Calhoun writes, “When we die, our souls leave our bodies but Jesus does not leave our bodies. These bodies, still united to Christ, rest in their graves until the resurrection.” Still united to Christ. This is why the hope of future resurrection is sure. Robert Shaw notes, “The grave cannot always retain what is so intimately connected with the living Redeemer. Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.”

The death of a child forces you to really wrestle with what you believe. C.S. Lewis famously quipped, “You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.” Do I really believe in the resurrection? Do I really believe in a God of love who takes our children to His side when they perish in this earthly life? There’s a need to train ourselves, fortify ourselves, and remind ourselves of these great realities, especially when sorrows like sea billows roll. J.C. Ryle encourages us, “Those whom you laid in the grave with many tears are in good keeping: you will yet see them again with joy. Believe it, think it, rest on it. It is all true.” Believe it, think it, rest on it.

This requires training. J.R. Miller agrees, saying, “We should cherish sacredly and tenderly the memory of our Christian dead—but should train ourselves to think of them as not in the grave—but in the home of the blessed with Christ, safely folded, waiting for us.” There’s coming a day when the royal trumpet will blast and the dead in Christ will rise in victory and triumph. The pain, heartache, and grief of this world will be reversed, and agonies will be transformed into glories. Every sad thing will become untrue. In the meantime, as we live in the overlap of the ages where we abide and wait, though others may forget our children, our task as bereaved parents and others is to hold vigil, to watch, and to pray. We visit his future resurrection site not just out of sadness and grief but immense joy in the coming triumph we will experience in Christ.