Death and Loss from a Christian Perspective by Victoria Crowley

Confusion. Hurt. Anger. Despair. Guilt. Sorrow. These are just a few of the emotions that death can bring to the surface. I’ve heard grief likened to a whirlpool, to waves crashing and receding, to a sudden storm that disrupts the surface of what we think is normal and acceptable in our lives.

My experience was like none of these. At thirteen years old, sitting in a hospital room with my four other siblings, I felt like I was in a vacuum. Voices were echoes. It wasn’t real. He couldn’t be gone. He was in the other room just five minutes ago. 

My dad was crying. My dad never cried. My mom was clutching a bag full of his extra clothes and stuffed animals. I remember my older sister asking if they made sure that he was actually dead. My parents said yes, that he was in heaven now with Jesus. My brother was gone.

Growing up in a big, homeschooled family, we were all pretty close. But growing up with a special needs brother, who needed extra care and attention, made us even closer. Taking care of him brought us all together in ways I think we still don’t fully grasp even today. I always knew growing up that it was a high possibility we could lose him, but I don’t think I really understood what that meant until it actually happened.

In the face of overwhelming loss, how are we to handle the flood of emotions as believers? In our broken, sinful state, loss is unbearable. Without Jesus, there is no hope, only pain. Only a realization of our own mortality and insufficiency to stop the slow, steady shadow of death from encroaching on our lives. 

 But that is without Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God, who lived a perfect, earthly life and died a horrible, torturous death, taking the sins of the world—my sins and your sins—on his shoulders to the grave. He offers his own righteousness in exchange for our sinfulness if we choose to accept the free gift. 

But if that was all Jesus did, we would be left without hope. What joy can we find in his death, in anyone’s death? 

So, Jesus, God in the flesh, rose from the dead. He showed us what we have to look forward to! When our loved ones die, it is not the end of their story—it’s the beginning of their eternity with Christ. When talking about death, Paul tells the Thessalonian church that they do not need to grieve like others who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). Certainly, we grieve. But we can grieve with joy, knowing one day we will see our loved one’s face again in glory.

That is how my parents handled my brother’s death with us. We didn’t have a funeral—we had a celebration of his life. We cried and we grieved, but I did and still do to this day have so much joy and hope knowing that Danny will meet me in heaven one day, fully whole and restored by our Savior. 

Tori Crowley is a freelance writer from Salisbury, Maryland, with a degree in multimedia journalism and a minor in Spanish. She has a passion for connecting with others and hearing their stories. She and her husband Andrew have served at a Christian camp in Pennsylvania the last four summers, and in their spare time they love hiking and exploring God’s creation.