AS I WRITE this I have heard three pieces of news - the death of the great American pastor and preacher Billy Graham, at the age of 99; the death of a relative of one of our church members at the age of 29 and the death of a teacher who was in his fifties.

The reality of death reminded me of a talk which Billy Graham gave to a technology conference in February 1998 in which he said: "Most people live as if they're never going to die. Technology projects the myth of control over our mortality...but death is inevitable."

The Bible puts it like this: 'As for man, his days are like grass - he blooms like a flower of the field; when the wind passes over it, it vanishes, and its place is no longer known (Psalm 103:15-16).'

As the deaths of the 99 year old, 29 year old and 50 year old show, the only uncertainty about death is when it will come.

So this is the question we are all left with: is this life all there is? As we go through Lent and approach Easter, we find the answer in the one who promised "I am the resurrection and the life" and who proved it by walking out of His grave, three days after His burial. He continued His promise saying "The one who believes in me will live, even though they die." The offer made by the one who conquered death stands open for all.

Peter Bramhall, minister, Trinity Church, Milnthorpe