Family Movie Devotionals: Coco

*Warning: this devotional deals with the topic of death. While the main idea discussed is the beauty of life-after-death in Christ, it is recommended that you pre-read this before sharing with your children to decide whether they are ready for the complex themes.*

In Coco, Miguel takes a trip to the land of the dead. It’s imagined as a colorful world full of skeletons and shining monsters. This is of course just a pretend movie, and not actually what happens when people die. But Coco touches on something that a lot of people are afraid of when they die: being forgotten. The good news for Christians is that we will never be forgotten, even in death.

The Bible tells us that people who believe in Jesus will live with Him in Heaven when they die. Only their body dies, and their spirit lives forever with Jesus. Heaven is a perfect place with no sin, sadness, sickness, or hurting. Life with Jesus will be better than anything we can imagine.

Revelation 21 says, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

This is a description of what life will be like forever for those who believe in Jesus. The very best part is that God will be with us!

In Coco, if someone in the land of the living didn’t remember the dead, they would disappear forever. While this is all just pretend, people are actually afraid of being forgotten when they die. They think that death is the end of their story, and so they try to fill their lives with the wrong things. They try to be famous or successful so the world will remember them, because they don’t believe Jesus will. Or they chase pleasure, comfort, and what feels good, because they don’t believe in the pleasures of Heaven. Or they only care about money and getting more stuff, because they are afraid that God alone can’t satisfy them. People only seek fame, success, pleasure, and money because they are afraid.

But we don’t have to be afraid. Jesus will never forget about us, we will never fade away. He loves you and will take care of you in life and after life. When Jesus rose from the dead, He proved that He was more powerful than death! Death is not the end for people who believe in Jesus. It’s the beginning of a beautiful forever with God.