Christ in my rising

If "Christ below me" makes me cringe, "Christ in my rising" makes me smile. Sung right after "Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting", "rising" refers to Christ being there when I wake up from my sleep. These three lines remind me that Christ watches over me all the time, whether I'm sleeping or sitting or waking up.

Christ beside me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, King of my heart;
Christ within me, Christ below me,
Christ above me, never to part.

Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me, shield in strife;
Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising, light of my life.

But the word `rising' also alludes to the resurrection: the final rising from the dead. This is the wonderful news: the grave no longer has power over us! And it is because of Christ that we will be raised!

Frankly, I think it is easy not to believe in an afterlife. The reason most of us feel like an afterlife ought to exist is because we simply cannot imagine ourselves or our loved ones not existing. Yet, wasn't there a time when we were not? I was born in 1977. Where was I in 1940? Do I have any recollection of that time? Therefore, since I did not exist in 1940, it is just as easy for me to believe that I won't exist in 2077. Experience proves it.

But I don't know if I want to trust my experience in this case. I don't know if I really want to believe that this is all to life: a brief candle flame, signifying nothing. I don't know if I want to believe that the coffin is the be-all and end-all of everything; it just seems so pointless.

So I choose instead to have faith in the words of Jesus:

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.

Sometimes the future is scary. I bought a savings plan that will mature in 25 years. In 25 years, I will be 53. Will my parents still be around then? That scares me. So much that I will probably find it hard to sleep tonight. But somehow I must find comfort in the promise that God will always be there, from cradle to grave to whatever is beyond.

Is this all just wishful thinking? I don't know. I suppose that is why they say that faith is evidence of things unseen.