Before we were born, as we lay in our mother's womb, our lives were contentment. There were no loud noises, no sharp edges, no severe temperatures, no worries of tomorrow, no concern about food and clothing. We could almost hear our mother's voice as it resonated down through the amniotic fluid. We could hear our mother's heart beat. We knew her love. She cared for us in every way. Life was good.

This life was ended by our births. Had we been asked, we would, no doubt, have said, "No, thank you very much. I do not want to be born. I like it here. Though dimly, I see my mother here and though vaguely, I know her sure love."

"Come out," the doctor said, "You will like it out here. You can see your mother face to face and know her more deeply."

The doctor was right. The voice of our mother, that we could almost hear, is now clear. Her love that we knew in her heartbeat and protection, we now know in presence and closer relationship.

In our lives we have come to know God. We can almost audibly hear his voice through the written and proclaimed gospel. He cares for us in all things. We sense his presence in the beating of the waves on the shore. We have experienced his love in countless ways. Life is good.

This life will, for all of us, be ended by our death. Once again, given the choice, we would no doubt respond, "No, thank you very much. I do not want to die. I like it here. Though dimly, I see my God here, and though vaguely, I know his sure love."

"Do not be afraid," Jesus, the great physician says, "Death has lost its sting. Come. You will like it here. You will see me face to face and know me more deeply."

In the end, this is the Christian perspective of death. It is simply being born again for the last time. We will be born into heaven and God's presence.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." (John 11: 25,26)

Because of our belief in Jesus Christ, we know that the one who has died is happy and with God. We mourn then, for ourselves and not for the deceased. We will miss them. Our lives will never be the same and so we are sad and often afraid.