Hope on All Hallows Eve

My family recently received some very happy news, and this came just a few days before we learned that another family received terribly sorrowful news.

Life is beautiful. Life is terrible.

Life is terribly beautiful.

A young man asks a young woman to marry him and her yes spreads joy across two families. Another young man makes a decision that tragically ends his life. What are we to make of this? A sunset can look amazingly beautiful to a person who has just lived a day of purpose and happiness, and yet the same sunset can be a painful reminder of death to one who has experienced the sorrowful darkness of night. The same clouds were imbued with the same reds and oranges from the same light, but their significance can be vastly different to as many human beings as may view them.

I don’t know how to continue this thought. I just sat down and started writing…. It occurs to me that the one thing that all of us human beings have in common while we live and breathe upon this earth is that we live and breathe upon this earth. We live. We live until we don’t. We always hope that our lives and the lives of our loved ones will be long, healthy, and happy, but we know that this doesn’t always happen. And yet… There is another thing that we all have in common: we live immortally.

We believe in eternal life because we believe that our souls are immortal and that heavenly bliss has been made available to us through the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. And now you may think that this post sounds a little preachy. But when we speak of people who die as going to a better place, when we take comfort and solace in the knowledge that our loved ones don’t disappear with death and that we will see them again, then we are paying attention to our souls and speaking spiritual truths. We are testifying. We are remembering that the sun rises again and that our souls, better than the sun, shine with everlasting light. Where does this light come from? From the Light that the darkness cannot overcome. And that is why, no matter what kind of day has led us to sunset, we are able to hope.

I’m just getting to know the young woman alluded to in the beginning of this reflection, and I discovered a passage of Scripture that means something to her. Even though I don’t know it’s specific significance to her, it’s one that has also spoken many times to me. I originally sat at my computer to simply share the sacred verse, but you got stuck with my preamble — as if anything in the Bible needs a preamble.

“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” (1 Peter 3:15)

And that’s why I’m writing here.

© 2024 Christina Chase

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