Grieving Father Reminds Us How Christians Should Talk About Death

Paul and Maggie Kim lost their five-year-old son, Michah, to influenza on New Year's Eve. In the midst of grief, Kim has kept his faith.

From Aleteia

By Theresa Civanto Barber

In the wake of personal tragedy, Paul Kim shares his witness about one of the most important Christian truths — one that’s all too easy to forget.

Paul Kim is used to talking about Jesus. 

A Catholic speaker and content creator who makes videos about his faith, he fields all kinds of questions and comments on social media.

But in the wake of personal tragedy, Kim is sharing his witness about one of the most important Christian truths — and one that’s all too easy to forget.

Kim’s 5-year-old son, Micah, died on Wednesday, December 31, after suffering complications from influenza. Kim has shared on his Instagram a brief video of Micah’s funeral, as well as photos and videos about responses to this devastating loss.

The extraordinary thing about the stories he’s shared? Kim speaks of Micah as still alive — alive in Heaven, with Jesus. 

Here’s a recent Instagram caption:

Every day, I receive messages about how Micah is interceding for people before Jesus’s throne (Rev 8:4), in the most astounding ways. If I wasn’t hearing directly from those who have been praying in faith, and showing me receipts, I would think this is all made up. No friends, Heaven is real. Jesus is King. Prayer changes things. For God, all things are possible. And Micah Joseph, our joyful 5 year old son, is ALIVE.

Indeed, our faith assures us that those we love who have gone before us are still alive and thriving in Heaven. The relationship between us hasn’t ended. 

The Catechism tells us that death does not interrupt our relationships:

“So it is that the union of the wayfarers with the brethren who sleep in the peace of Christ is in no way interrupted, but on the contrary … this union is reinforced by an exchange of spiritual goods.” (CCC 955)

And again, that the people we love can still help us and care for us from beyond the veil:

“The witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom … constantly care for those whom they have left on earth.” (CCC 2683)

And it’s in Sacred Scripture too. There are too many Bible verses to name them all, but the beating heart of the Christian message is that Christ died so that death would no longer be the end.

Losing our loved ones does not mean losing them forever. Death is not the end.:

Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Kim graciously shared with his audience some of the perhaps miraculous wonders that followed Micah’s death — events he believes came through Micah’s prayers. You can hear about these on his Instagram account. 

To our modern ears, it can sound shocking to speak of someone dead as though they are still alive, to talk to them assuming they can hear us, and to believe the relationship is not ended. 

But this is the full truth of what we believe as Christians. 

Jesus rose from the dead so that we could have eternal life in him — and our loved ones who have died are not gone. They are not living on “only in our hearts and memories.” 

They are truly alive, even more alive than we are here on earth. Here we “see through a glass darkly” but in Heaven we will see “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). 

It’s easy to forget this truth, but Kim reminds us, thanks to the powerful witness he shares in the wake of heartbreak.