In memory of … all the loved ones who have gone before us.
For the purpose of preparation … because we all will follow.
In hopes that we may comfort each other … be ready for the day … and live well.
Some verses to consider:
John 12:24 – “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
Psalm 139:16 – “… All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Psalm 116:15 – “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Let me tell you a story of death … and of life. (It’s my story - I can use whatever order to things I want!)
A lovely woman we will call Nana died when she was near the age of 95. Her funeral was held in a magnificent church with beautiful stained glass windows. As we took our seats, we quietly waited for the family to enter. I looked around at all the people who had loved this woman and marveled that she had touched so many lives.
Then came the family. This lovely woman had raised 8 children so the group that came to bury Nana was large and varied. Nana had done many things in life and was a strong woman but nothing impressed me like the grief of her beloved family. It was clear they would remember their precious Nana for all the days of their lives.
I couldn’t help but think of the verse of a single seed in its death producing many seeds. Life follows death. Because of Jesus’ death – that single seed – life will always follow – many seeds will flourish. There is a new pattern to things – death loses – life wins.
All of Nana’s days had been written by God. The day she died and the day she was buried were precious in God’s sight. As a believer in Jesus Christ, Nana went on to eternal life with God where she will one day be reunited with her beloved family in a big house with lots of food – what more could an Italian family ask for? In the meantime they go out and live – part of their living is the legacy of Nana.
Life follows death. And no matter how shocked we are at the day of a death – the Lord has everything all ready.
John 14:2 and 3 – “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.”
The way to life after death? John 14:6 – “Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one come to the Father except through me.”
Perfectly prepared and personally escorted. GO TELL IT!!