In our previous devotional on the Westminster Larger Catechism, we considered the painful reality of death and why even Christians must still pass through it in this fallen world. Question 86 takes us one step further. It teaches us what becomes of those who belong to Christ when they die. It asks, “What is the communion in glory with Christ, which the members of the invisible Church enjoy immediately after death?” The catechism answers: “The communion in glory with Christ, which the members...

In the previous questions of the Westminster Larger Catechism, we are reminded that believers already enjoy the first fruits of glory in this life, yet still live in a world marked by sin, and suffering. We are also reminded that the wages, that is, the just reward, for sin is death. That leaves Christians with an important question, one the catechism asks in Question 85: “Death, being the wages of sin, why are not the righteous delivered from death, seeing all their sins are forgiven in...

We plan our weeks as if tomorrow is guaranteed. We make lists, set goals, and talk about “someday” as if the time were already ours. Most of the time, death stays at the edge of our thoughts. Just far enough away to ignore. But we are inevitably forced to confront it. Sometimes it is a funeral. Sometimes it is a close call. Sometimes it is nothing dramatic at all. It’s just the quiet weight that comes when you realize you are not young anymore, and life is moving faster than you expected. In...