I’ve never done a funeral or a memorial service where the ones who are mourning their deceased loved one have said, “That’s all over. We’ll never see them again.” Some have maybe thought that, but what they say, at least what I’ve heard, are expressions of hope that their loved one’s soul is alive, in a better place and one day there will be reunions.

We don’t want to believe life ends at the grave. We cling to the hope that relationships don’t end when the heart stops beating.

There was an old beer commercial where some guys were sitting on a boat, drinking beer and, supposedly having a good time. One of them said, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” What a sad thing if that was true. How tragic it would be if some brief and quickly-over good times were the best we ever experienced.

Even if we have gotten to enjoy some great experiences in this life, we still hope there is something more. We hope the grave is not the end.

The resurrection of Jesus gives hope that we need and hope that is real. We don’t hope in what we do, but in what Jesus has done. We know there is more to this life because Jesus conquered the grave. He took on death when He gave His life on the cross for our sins. On Resurrection morning He won the victory when He was raised to life again. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (I Corinthians 15:20).

We are like people standing at the door of a dark cave. We know we have to enter but we are scared because we don’t know what it is like. But then Jesus comes and says He has gone in the cave and made it out the other side. He offers to take our hand and never let go and lead us all the way. We don’t fear the dark unknown when we are holding on by faith to the all-knowing Lord.

“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact” (Acts 2:32). It really happened. Jesus was definitely dead, but on Easter He was raised to life. He was the most alive person on the planet, and He remains alive today.

John Lennon wrote, “Imagine there’s no heaven.” Even though the song is popular, I don’t think many people really want to imagine that. It is far better to follow the encouragement of another songwriter: “I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see, when Your face is before me.”

When I got the call that Ruth Tollefson had died, I was listening to that song, “I Can Only Imagine.” I was thankful that because of Ruth’s faith in Jesus, I knew it wasn’t over. Because Jesus lives, I got to imagine the joyful, peaceful life Ruth was getting to experience right then. Our hope is beyond our imagination, but it’s not a figment of our imagination, because Jesus has risen from the dead.