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Post by allidmoody on Sept 8, 2015 19:46:20 GMT -5
Dear Mike, Hope you and your family are well. I sure do miss your preaching on Sunday's, but I listen to your FBK podcasts often. I am REALLY struggling with the thought of losing my grandmother. She is 80 years old and was recently diagnosed with leukemia (same diagnosis as me). The disease is progressing rapidly, and she is not expected to live longer than 6 months. You and I both know that only God knows the date and hour...if doctor's were always right, I shouldn't be alive typing this...Praise God I am! Anyway, my grandmother is a believer and says she is ready to go home when God chooses. I want to believe her dying will be a "see you later" rather than a permanent goodbye...it would make it so much easier to let her go knowing we will be reunited one day. I'm not sure you know the answer, but I thought you at least might be able to lead me to some scripture that could provide some comfort and/or understanding. Thanks for your consideration. Your friend, Allison
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Post by Mike Miller on Sept 14, 2015 16:30:52 GMT -5
Allison! How great to hear from you. I'm absolutely humbled that you would listen to my sermons. We miss you and Tommy, and we have prayed for you many, many times. We rejoice with you that you are a survivor. Praise God!
As to your question, the Bible never explicitly addresses this issue, but it does give us some clues. To begin with, Scripture is clear that when Christ returns, we will receive resurrection bodies. Jesus is the firstborn from among the dead (Colossians 1:18). He has a physical body, and we are told that we will be like him in that respect (Romans 6:5; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2). 1 Corinthians 15 goes to great lengths to emphasize that we will have real physical bodies in the resurrection. Moreover, it seems that we will retain our physical qualities that identify us. When Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration in Luke 9, the disciples recognized them (though they had never seen them). Then, when Jesus died, Matthew 27 tells us that some of the saints were raised from the dead and appeared to many. This seems to indicate that they were recognized by others.
Therefore, I think it is safe to say that we will recognize each other in heaven. As to what our relationships will be, I can't answer. But since heaven is a place where sadness does not exist, the way we interact must be really, really good.
I hope this helps. Now don't be a stranger.
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Post by allidmoody on Sept 29, 2015 19:47:52 GMT -5
Thank you so much, Mike! I always appreciate your insight!
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