NOT AS THOSE WHO HAVE NO HOPE

 4083

Pt. 1

"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." (1st Thess. 4:13-14)

My father in law had passed away just days earlier, and my wife and I walked into the funeral home for his "home going" service, As we passed the first funeral chapel, we noticed a lone elderly woman leaning over an open casket; prior to the public viewing. (We learned later that the dearly departed was her middle aged daughter).

Suddenly, the older lady emitted a loud scream, and she continued to scream for a full minute. Thankfully, my father in law's funeral service had not yet begun, as only a thin moveable partition separated the two chapels. (My brother in law, a pastor, indicated he planned to step into the other chapel, and encourage her).

And I could not help but remember that well known passage of scripture.

"You do not grieve like those who have no hope."

Now, I can't speak authoritatively about the dear little woman, nor judge her. I have no idea how or why her daughter passed away, nor whether either of them knew the Lord. 

However, the elderly lady's abject grief certainly accented the truth of Paul the Apostle's admonition about the hope which we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been assured that we will see our believing loved ones again. And what an amazing, blessed assurance it is.

Pt. 2

I attended a memorial service yesterday for a young man who had preceded his father and mother. 

As my wife and I were watching the prepared photos on the overhead screen, a sixty something year old man walked down the aisle and stopped next to us. He grabbed Jean's right hand while looking back and forth between us... and smiling and serenading us with an unfamiliar hymn. Suddenly, I recognized the man from the screen photos.

"Oh, hi. You're 'John's' dad."

And since we had never met, I ended up explaining how I had recognized him. "Mr. Johnson" was introduced to the audience partway through the memorial service, and he shared a few phone messages he'd saved of his son.

As the memorial service continued, first a friend and then a relative would share stories about "John." Ultimately, the pastor introduced his mother. "Gloria" told several humorous stories about her son's boyhood years; which resulted in peals of laughter. Of course, there was no doubt how deeply loved "John" had been, and is, and how his presence would be missed.

As the memorial service concluded, and as my wife and I walked back to our car, I could not help but compare these two funeral experiences for young adults; which I have recounted here. While there is nothing joyous about the passing of someone who has not yet lived out half of their appointed days, Thank God as believers we do not grieve as those who have no hope. One of my great great grandfathers, a Primitive Baptist pastor, lived to the ripe old age of 108, but even his life was like a fog in the morning when compared to the length and breath and depth of eternity. I expect to meet him one day.

My friends, this is not all there is. The writers of the New Testament and our Lord, Himself have guaranteed we will see our believing loved ones again. We grieve not as those who have no hope.

"But this life... is passing away, but he who does the will of God endures forever." (1st John 2:17)

by William McDonald, PhD