11/20/2022
The mourners gather and hearts break when a loved one passes from this life to the next, but when the deceased is a Christian believer, and the mourners take possession of the victory that has been won, then although their hearts might be sad, their souls rejoice as they share in the victory claimed in that triumphant moment. We mourn for a season, but claim victory in the promise of eternity.
“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.””
1 Corinthians 15:54 ESV
Yesterday I attended the funeral of a friend, and a fellow believer in Jesus Christ. I listened to the eulogies, and witnessed the heartache of his family while brushing away the tears from my own eyes, but I also heard the trumpets, and the singing, as this saint, my friend, was welcomed home victorious. The joyous sound I heard was echoing from the heights of heaven as he was welcomed home… the victor.
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:56-57 ESV
At such bittersweet moments when a saint leaves their earthly home for the mansion that awaits them in Heaven I always think of the time as a boy when my father left us, and travelled ahead of the family to Germany. He was going ahead to prepare a place for us. As a military man he had been reassigned there, but we could not join him until he had found a home for us, made the proper preparations, and we had completed packing our things as we made our own selves ready for the journey, by completing what needed to be done before traveling to where he was.
“Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.””
John 13:36 ESV
Jesus said these words to Peter and the others, then later He followed this reassurance with a promise as he said…
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
John 14:3 ESV
My earthly father said similar things to my mother, brother, sisters, and me, but when he left us we cried. We were not crying because we would never see him again, but because we would miss him until we were reunited on the far side of the ocean he was crossing.
This is like the promise we have in Christ, and these are similar to the tears a Christian cries at funerals. We weep as Jesus wept over Lazarus, not out of desperate loss, or defeat, but because of our love for one whom we will not see for a while. Jesus wept knowing full well that He was preparing to raise his friend Lazarus from the dead… and yet, knowing this, He wept.
“And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!””
John 11:34-36 ESV
So as followers in Christ we cry at funerals, but not as those who are defeated, but as loved ones waiting to cross the ocean to where we will be reunited again. We long for that reunion that awaits us in that place where they have gone to be with Jesus, and where they are now preparing a place for us. This is why Paul wrote these words to the Corinthians…
““O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?””
1 Corinthians 15:55 ESV
Yesterday a family, and gathering of Christian friends, cried for having lost Pastor Daniel Bell in this world, but these were short lived tears. We know we will see him again, and in the knowledge of that promise, the sting of death is gone. We are left only with the sadness of a temporary separation, the tears of those who trust they will all be dried, and the assurance of a joyous reunion.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””
Revelation 21:4-5 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the promise of eternal life through our belief in Jesus Christ. Thank you Lord for defeating death, and removing its sting. Help us Holy Spirit to find the rest, peace, and joy, not in the promise of death, but in the victory that awaits us in the everlasting life that follows. Holy, Holy, Holy, are your our God who gives us hope, and dries our tears. Praised be your name for the love you have given us that fills our eyes with tears, of sadness and joy alike, and causes us to love the dying, and the resurrected. Thank you for the love that allows us to wait in great anticipation for the moments of sweet reunion that are yet to come. Merciful are you for your forgiveness of our sins, and for your abounding grace that leads us through death to eternal life with you. Wash us in the blood of Jesus, and cleanse us of all sin and transgression in preparation for our judgement in Jesus. Call to the horn blowers so that they will announce our arrival before you. Send out the dancers to gather around us in jubilation, and sing over us songs of triumphant victory. This is a day that the world calls defeat and bitter death, but we, as Christian’s, celebrate it as life in you, and Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV
Rich Forbes