There's nothing quite so hard when you've lost a loved one as seeing their empty chair—their favorite piece of furniture where they used to sit, an unmade bed, or a bicycle with the helmet still dangling from the handlebars. That empty space represents the aching in your heart, a void that seems impossible to fill.
I'm reminded of Winston Churchill's words during World War I: "There are very few homes in Britain where you will not find the empty chair and the aching heart." After 20 million deaths and another 21 million injured, nearly every family had experienced devastating loss.
But this is why Easter matters so much. When Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life," He wasn't just offering nice words—He was offering the only true solution to our grief.
With Jesus' victory over death comes hope. Even when we're "tossed with tempest and not comforted," God promises us restoration, stability, strength, and the hope of Heaven (Isaiah 54:11). Heaven isn't the consolation prize—it's the jackpot! It makes this earth look like a beat-up tent compared to the home that awaits us.
While we wait for that day, we find purpose in our pain. Isaiah urges us to "enlarge the place of your tent." The more we open our lives to serve others experiencing similar suffering, the more healing God brings to our own hearts. When we choose to reach out instead of closing in, God works in mysterious ways to bring beauty from ashes.
Easter also brings peace that transcends our circumstances. As a parent, nothing matters more to me than knowing my children will be with Jesus for eternity. The material success and achievements we often stress over pale in comparison to this ultimate reality. This perspective transforms how we view our struggles today.
At the foundation of it all is forgiveness purchased at the cross. "He was wounded for our transgressions... and by His stripes we are healed." Without this sacrifice, nothing else stands. Jesus didn't just speak of eternal life—He demonstrated it by conquering the grave, the ultimate empty chair.
We've experienced this personally in the years since our five-year-old daughter went to be with Jesus. God has transformed that intrusion into something precious in our lives, layering it with His grace until it becomes a pearl of great price. What began as unbearable pain has, through Christ's resurrection power, become a testimony of His faithfulness.
If you're sitting with an empty chair today, I speak colorful, bright, vivid beauty over you. Jesus is the only one who conquered death, rose from the grave, and offered eternal life. This Easter, may you find comfort in the One who makes the empty chair a promise rather than just a painful reminder. Because of Him, we can say with confidence: This is not the end of the story.
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