The God of the Living

Jesus replied, 'The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.'

Jesus isn't just claiming resurrection as future doctrine. He's saying God's very nature is that God is the God of the living. Death doesn't change that. People who have died are still alive to God. That's what makes the resurrection claim believable—it's consistent with God's nature. God doesn't relate to the dead as dead. God relates to everyone as living. That changes how I think about those I've lost. They're not gone from God. They're alive in God's presence.