Genuine Repentance; March 6, 2024

Posted on March 7, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God,
you will not despise.

Along with Peter weeping bitterly after having denied that he knew Jesus, this is perhaps the most famous record of repentance in the whole Bible. As the introduction to the Psalm specifies, David had plenty to repent of, having stolen another man’s wife and then arranging for that man to be killed in battle. That said, as James pointed out, “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10) David was neither alone nor unique in his need for repentance! That’s why he is an excellent example for us to study, both as a model of good things and as a cautionary tale against bad things. Probably the most important thing to remember about him is that he was fully committed to God, in all his human weakness. It’s no accident that Jesus was frequently referred to as “Son of David.” Back in the 1st Century that specifically referred to His royal lineage, but it carries other meanings as well. Jesus never sinned, and so never had a need to repent, but He carried our human weakness, and so I think sin was possible for Him. Otherwise, temptation would not have been real, and the Bible is very clear that His temptations were real indeed. (Hebrews 4:15) David, on the other hand, blew it, but in the process God used him as a model for repentance, and that factor has blessed mankind ever since.

I am quite aware of my own weaknesses and failures, and of my need to keep my repentance up to date. My electronic equipment is forever updating, but that’s not nearly as important as my repentance! The important thing for me to remember is that genuine repentance always involves a change in behavior. When I repeat a sin, I know that my repentance hasn’t been sufficient. At the same time, I know that in my human weakness I am not capable of getting it right, so I am completely dependent on the grace and mercy of God. That said, that’s not a bad place to be, because God is totally faithful and merciful toward all who will come to him in humble faith. When my repentance isn’t sufficient, it’s because I either don’t really believe God can and will cleanse and forgive me, (1 John 1:9) or, more likely, because in my pride I want to reserve the right to sin again. Either is totally foolish. As a pastor I am to encourage repentance in others, but that doesn’t mean I’m to be accusatory. After all, the name, Satan, means “the accuser.” The Holy Spirit is more than able to show each of us what we need to repent of, so I’m to strive to be sensitive and available to Him, both in my own life and as I deal with others. He not only shines a light on our sins, He enables us to repent!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for carrying me along, despite my many weaknesses. Help me walk in right relationship with You at all times, to be and do exactly what You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trusting God; March 5, 2024

Posted on March 6, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

When verse four is so totally famous and loved, I felt I was to write on something else! Actually, the thought is continuous from verse three on through verse seven at least, and it’s a very good one indeed. The theme is heart attitude, and the benefits when that is right. So much depends on how well we trust God! Where the English says, “Commit your way to the Lord,” the Japanese uses a word that means “yield,” or “surrender.” I’ve had Japanese ask me how to do that! I think that’s a very honest question. We like to be “the captain of our fate,” as a poem by an otherwise obscure poet puts it. We want to feel like we are in control, when in actual fact we seldom if ever are. Our choices indeed matter a great deal, but for the most part we have no control over what happens to us. We are accountable for what we do with the opportunities and resources we are given, but the list of things over which we have no say, starting with our genetics, is limitless. Jesus told the very famous parable of the talents, (Matthew 25) as well as saying, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:48) “Yielding things to God” is no excuse for being irresponsible. However, failing to recognize that God is ultimately in control is a recipe for burnout at least, and utter disaster at worst. In the Japanese, the last half of verse five says, “and He will get it done.” We are to recognize what God has given us and make full use of it, but we’ve got to remember that in the final analysis, everything good is done by Him; we are merely participants.

Once again the Lord has been very timely in these Scripture readings. That’s all the more amazing when I’m the one who draws up the list! This is just further evidence that He knows what will happen before the fact, because He sees all of time at a glance, and He knows what we need and when we need it. As I have written for the past couple of days, I am very tied up in my last official acts as I am retiring from 42 years of school teaching. This is yet another Word to encourage me to release everything to God, trusting that everything He has done through me will bear the fruit He intends at the proper time. I cannot say precisely what impact I have had on my thousands of students over these years, but God knows, and He has used and will use it to draw them toward Him. I am to delight myself in Him, as verse four so famously says, and express my love by full obedience, (John 14:15) leaving the results in His hands.

Father, thank You for this encouraging reminder. Thank You that things went smoothly through the day yesterday, even though I almost messed things up at one point and was needlessly irritable at another. Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You each moment of today, so that You may be fully glorified. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Honest to God; March 4, 2024

Posted on March 5, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalms 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

Perhaps David’s most shining attribute was that he was honest to God. He was capable of deception – even this Psalm was written after he successfully deceived an enemy to secure his own freedom – and certainly deceived himself when it came to Bathsheba, but he never tried to hide from God. He didn’t try to “put on a brave face” when it came to God, but rather sought Him in honesty. I think many of us fall short in that area, trying to pretend even to God that we are something we aren’t. God liked that in him, and He likes that in us when we are that way. The irony is that we can’t hide anything from God anyway, so we might as well be honest! This is closely tied to our image of God, which is closely tied to our parents and the way we were raised. The reason the devil attacks the whole idea of fatherhood so viciously is that our image of God is strongly colored by our experience of and relationship with our human fathers, and the last thing the devil wants is for us to understand that God is always there, always strong, always just, always pure. Of course, none of our physical fathers were perfectly that way, but the more they strove toward that ideal, the more likely we are to grasp that God is that way. Jesse must have been a pretty good father! By God’s grace we can overcome the lack of a good father-model in our lives, but it can be a pretty steep climb at times. Regardless, whether we were raised by a near-perfect father or were abandoned by our parents, we still need to be honest with God. After all, honesty is a fundamental requirement for genuine repentance, and that is essential for salvation.

I was enormously blessed to be raised by a father who loved and served God, and who held Absolute Honesty as one of his fundamental principles. That has helped me strive not to dishonor his name or his memory. I’m thankful that the idea of God’s omniscience was planted in my heart very early. It probably helped that my father knew so much! In any case, I realized even as a child that it was silly, even stupid, to try to hide anything from God. This is all very timely, particularly in reference to this verse, because I am faced with a real fear that some people might find strange. This week marks the termination of my duties to The Koyo Schools, where I have taught for the past 42 years. I have various unrelated things on my schedule for next week, but after that my datebook looks remarkably empty. I am used to being needed, to being on call, and I know from experience that I am very adept at wasting time. I think I am afraid of my own weaknesses. Having written that, I am reminded of something I have told many people over the years: God is much stronger than our weaknesses! Knowing that, I have nothing to fear! I don’t know what God has planned for this next stage of my life, but I can trust Him with it in every detail, knowing that His plans are good. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Father, thank You for this perfect reminder. I feel so much better! I pray that my presence at the nursing school graduation today and the rehabilitation school graduation tomorrow would be what You desire, cementing the image of Christ You have transmitted through me over the years, drawing those people to you, and then through them, drawing many others to you, for the salvation of multitudes, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Already/Not Yet; March 3, 2024

Posted on March 4, 2024 by jgarrott

Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him.

I chose this verse from the English, thinking it was a prophecy of the evangelization of the world, and then I find that the Japanese is more a prayer, an expression of desire that these things happen. Not knowing the Hebrew, I don’t know which is more accurate. This Psalm is of great importance, since it is the one Jesus started quoting from the cross. (Matthew 27:46) It actually describes many of the details of the crucifixion, so what follows that is of great interest. I wonder if the Japanese translators lacked faith at this point? The thing is, many other places in the Bible speak of the Gospel going out to all mankind. We are to desire for that to happen, as in the Japanese, and we are to believe that it positively will happen, as in the English. Many places in the Bible bring up the already/not yet tension, because God is outside of time, and so all things are now to Him. Jesus taught us to pray that God’s plans be fulfilled “on earth as it is in heaven,” (Matthew 6:10) because, as fully human, Jesus experienced the flow of time as we do, but He was also part of the Godhead, existing before Creation. That must have been quite an experience for Him! As we pray for God’s will to be done, we need to do so with the understanding that from God’s perspective it already has been done. For us, the eternal perspective is entirely a matter of faith, but we wait for the moment when “faith becomes sight,” as the well-loved hymn, It Is Well With My Soul puts it. We have been justified by the blood of Christ, but at the same time we are not yet made perfect, and the more we understand that tension, the more we long for the completion that will only come before the Throne. God’s thoughts and plans are indeed far higher than ours! (Isaiah 55:9)

I experience this tension constantly. The more I know of God, the more I am aware that I’m not there yet, but the more I know Him personally, the more I know that from His standpoint, it’s already done. I need to rest, relax, and rejoice even in that tension, just as He has told me to do. I know I belong to Him, and that is enough, because He is totally faithful. As He told Paul, His grace is sufficient for me, regardless of the circumstances. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Father, thank You for this reminder. This week marks my last as an employee of The Koyo Schools, which I have been for the past 42 years, and that frankly is a scary thought. Help me be active in my anticipation of what You have for me in this next stage of my life on earth, as I look forward to eternity with You. May I not draw back from anything You direct, but know that Your plans for me are perfect. (Jeremiah 29:11) Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our View of God; March 2, 2024

Posted on March 3, 2024 by jgarrott

Job 42:5-6 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”

A great deal depends on how we view God. For the vast majority of people He is a bearded old man in the clouds, or perhaps just an amorphous concept. That certainly changes when we have a personal encounter with Him. Job speaks of seeing Him, but since God is Spirit, we don’t know what he actually saw. Without question he heard God in such a way that there could be no question what or who he was hearing. I remember Benjamin Berger, who was an agnostic Jew when he heard God say to him, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I’m your God.” Later in that conversation He also said, “And by the way, my name’s Jesus.” Needless to say, Benjamin has been absolutely committed to the Lord ever since! The last thing the devil wants us to know is that God is personal, and He cares personally about each of us. When we know that, it puts the whole rest of the world into perspective. It makes us understand that we are no big deal, but at the same time extremely valuable, because God, the Creator of the universe, values us enough to send His Son to die for us. Job had no revelation of the cross, so he mostly got the message that he was no big deal, but he still experienced God’s grace in overflowing measure. Sometimes God does manifest Himself to us in unmistakable ways, but most of the time, and for most people, we have to recognize Him by faith. However, if we will do that, we will discover that He is the very definition of faithful, absolutely to be trusted, and that is a degree of security that can be had no other way.

I have heard God speak to me in what seemed like an audible voice on at least two occasions, but I have been convinced of His reality most of my life. That is the blessing of having believing parents who lived out their faith. Parents who just follow a religious tradition and give lip service to a creed do their children no favors, but those who live out their faith in active service to and fellowship with the Lord give them an inheritance that has no equal. I have no words to express my gratitude to my parents, and to God, and me being at a loss for words is a rare thing indeed! I wish that I could say that my awareness of God has kept me totally faithful to Him, but that is not at all the case. I am very aware of how essential God’s grace is for me! My prayer is that my life has been and will be a demonstration of the reality of God to all who know me, my physical children included. At 75, I have no idea how many more years the Lord will give me to impart that impression, but I rejoice at every evidence that it is happening.

Father, thank You for the incredible privilege of knowing You, even to the small degree that I do, and of introducing others to You. Thank You for being so different from the conventional characteriza­tions of You. Thank You for having a sense of humor, and for giving me one! May I not misrepresent You in any way, but accurately convey Your truth and Your love to all, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Respecting God; March 1, 2024

Posted on March 2, 2024 by jgarrott

Job 36:13 “The godless in heart harbor resentment;
even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.”

This is a very interesting statement that deserves a lot of unpacking. Where the NIV says “godless in heart,” the Japanese says, “do not respect God from their heart.” Having a vague idea that God exists doesn’t cut it. If you fail to respect Him as the omnipotent, holy Creator that He is, then He might as well not exist for you. The fascinating part of this verse is the result of that attitude: resentment, or, as the Japanese has it, wrath, or deep anger. The irony is that resentment and anger will ruin anyone’s life. Countless studies have shown that gratitude is the key to genuine happiness, and resentment is the opposite of gratitude. As the English expression has it, such people cut off their nose to spite their face. Even when God puts them in tight circumstances to make them acknowledge their need for Him, they refuse to turn to Him for help. The irony is extreme, all the way around. I am reminded of that famous statement of David, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 53:1) I have always liked the re-punctuation of that sentence as, “The fool says, in his heart there is no God.” That fits today’s verse of failing to respect God. I say it again and again and again, but God doesn’t pick on us. Rather, He allows us to get into situations that should force us to recognize our helplessness without Him, so that we will turn to Him and open our hearts to Him. If we will do that, then we will discover that the trial was a blessing indeed.

I was raised with enough of an awareness of God that I don’t think I’ve ever resented Him or thought He was being unjust toward me. That has been a huge blessing! I have encountered many people who were mad at God for one reason or another. I will always remember one young man who was complaining about his circumstances, and I said to him, very simply, “So, you’re mad at God.” He was a sincere believer, and he reacted like I had kicked him in the stomach. He had a considerable attitude adjustment after that, and became a much happier person, as well as a dear friend. Throughout my life I have encountered things that I felt were less than ideal, but I remember John 16:33 and praise God anyway. One of the few times I have heard God in what seemed like an audible voice, I was lying in bed, thinking, “There are so many things I wish were different.” As clearly as if a person were standing right beside me, I heard, “How do you think I feel?” In that moment I understood that God is not pleased with much of what is going on, but He has a plan, and human free will is part of it. I am not to accuse Him, even in my mind, of being the author of evil, but seek to be His agent of good, with gratitude for the privilege.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Today is a very packed schedule, as are the following several days. Help me receive everything from Your hand with respect, obedience, and gratitude, so that all of Your purposes for everything may be fulfilled, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Human Suffering; February 29, 2024

Posted on March 1, 2024 by jgarrott

Job 33:29-30 “God does all these things to a man– twice, even three times–to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him.

Elihu is a wild card in the narrative of Job. He is not one of the three friends of Job, and is apparently younger than they and Job, and he is not included in God’s strict words about the three friends. (Job 42:7-9) He also says some really good stuff! We had a member here for a while who was very prophetic, and he was convinced that Elihu was a manifestation of Christ. I’m not sure about that, but it doesn’t seem out of the question. In any case, these two verses speak directly to the whole problem of human suffering. The issue is one that has troubled mankind ever since the Garden of Eden faded from memo­ry, and this is a simple, direct answer. God allows suffering in our lives to turn our thoughts, our hearts, to Him. When we descend into a “pity party” we are running from the good that God always intends for us. We’ve got to remember that God is never the source of evil, and He always wants the very best for us. When His own Son came and took our human form, He suffered to the ultimate degree, both physically and emotionally. After all, the very word, excruciating, means “analogous to being nailed to a cross.” That’s why Jesus so famously said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) And that was just before His arrest and crucifixion! Jesus’ suffering was in no way the result of His sin, because He had none, so we are not always to assume that our suffering is our own fault. However, the possibility is very much there! That’s why, when we suffer, our question isn’t to be, “Why me?” but rather, “What do You want me to learn from this?” God wants us to be “without spot or wrinkle” (Ephesians 5:27) when we stand before Him. Of course, the ultimate answer to that is putting on the righteousness of Christ, but there are a lot of other ways He works on us as well, and it’s much easier if we don’t “kick against the goads.” (Acts 26:14) I have been reminded just recently that older pastors in China have been concerned for younger believers who haven’t experienced the persecution they have, because persecution strengthens faith and commitment! I’ve read of similar things being expressed by a pastor in Sudan about American Christians! We are indeed to be grateful for all that God allows us to experience, whether it feels good or not, knowing that God is indeed love, (1 John 4:8) and His plans for us are good. (Jeremiah 29:11)

I feel like I have experienced very little real suffering, particularly compared to what I know my brothers and sisters in Christ are going through in other parts of the world, and even to my wife’s physical issues. It was almost a relief when I broke my wrist just over a year ago! My own stupidity and presumption were certainly involved in the fall that produced that, so I knew well that I had nothing to complain about. In two weeks I’ll be having a biopsy for another potential basal cell carcinoma, but that feels like no big deal. Last night in prayer meeting I was taken to task for a failure in pastoral ministry, and in some ways that was more painful than physical issues, but I needed to hear it, and I am grateful. I am certainly in need of more growth and polishing, and I too need not to “kick against the goads.”

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You also for the sermon for Sunday! You are incredibly faithful to speak to and through me, and I am very grateful. Help me truly apply everything You say to me, not just give it intellectual assent. May I be Your agent in speaking Your truth to Your people in ways they can receive it, so that together we may be transformed into the likeness of Christ, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

True Wealth; February 28, 2024

Posted on February 29, 2024 by jgarrott

Job 22:25 “Then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.”

I’m always cautious when reading what Job’s friends said to him, but there is sometimes truth wrapped up in the platitudes. This verse, particularly as the Japanese translates it, seems to imply that being in right standing with God will make you wealthy, which Paul pointed out is a terrible misunderstanding. (1 Timothy 6:5) However, the truth that is hidden in this is that when we are in right relationship with the Lord, we discover that He is more valuable than any amount of material wealth. Jesus spoke of “treasure in heaven,” (Matthew 19:21) and said that we are to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” (Matthew 6:33) before and above anything material, even what we need for physical life. We have a lot of trouble with that! In a sense, we need to become like Elon Musk is at this point. As the richest person on the planet, he is essentially unaffected by financial temptations, and he ridiculed the head of Disney who threatened him with loss of ad revenue. We need to realize that our Lord, as the Creator, owns EVERYTHING, so our focus should be totally on Him and not be concerned with finances. We are indeed to be good stewards of what He places in our hands, but understand that the material is of little significance on the eternal scale.

I recently had a rather surprising lesson in this. Where I was speaking last week is a spiritual retreat in a very rural area of Saga Prefecture. The building is fairly large, with many rooms, and was originally the residence and work area of an agricultural family. The pastor who invited me to speak had held a youth camp there a few years ago, before the COVID scare, and after that died down was interested in using it again. The old lady who owned it, who was not yet a baptized believer, said, “Do you really want to use it? I’ll give it to you.” In a couple of weeks he received the title, with taxes paid! Since the building had been unoccupied, with no attention for about three years, the grounds were very overgrown and various repairs were called for, but the point was that the owner, apparently without heirs interested in the house and land, realized that it was all worthless to her at this point in her life. It really struck me that the same may be said for any material thing I deal with. Everything I can see with my eyes and touch with my hands is a tool to be used in the work the Lord has prepared for me to do. (Ephesians 2:10) I am not to be possessive of anything, or anxious about anything. That is true wealth, and I am blessed indeed.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that I have seen Matthew 6:33 fulfilled in my life many times over. Help me make the use that You intend of everything You place in my hands, material or otherwise, so that Your will may be done on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Substitutionary Repentance; February 27, 2024

Posted on February 28, 2024 by jgarrott

Nehemiah 1:6-7 “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.”

What jumps out about Nehemiah, as it does about Daniel, is the matter of substitutionary repentance. He was personally a very straight-up guy, earning a position of great trust in the Persian court, even though he was a Jew. However, he includes himself and his family as he confesses that the Jews have not been faithful to the laws laid out by Moses. Hearing the situation in Jerusalem from his brother Hana­ni he was very upset, but he attributed it all to the sins of the Jews, not accusing God of being unjust in the slightest. I’m reminded of the situation in Gaza right now. As multiple people have said, every death on both sides can be laid directly at the feet of Hamas, because they not only attacked Israeli civilians, they have consistently placed their own civilians in harm’s way, hoping for mass casualties to turn international opinion against Israel. There is no evidence of Nehemiah’s sort of repentance there! Society today doesn’t like to attribute anything to Divine action, but that is more willful blindness than anything else. We would do well to examine our circumstances and the world around us in the light of God’s clear instructions and our own lifestyle. We might not have contributed directly to things as they are, but at the least our own inactivity has failed to restrain the negative influences. That can certainly be said of America today, because if the Church had consistently stood up for Biblical standards and morality over the past century, we would live in a very different world indeed. The thing is, none of us is innocent; we all need to keep our repentance up-to-date. We also need to do as Nehemiah did, and acknowledge the sins of our extended family, our social grouping, and our nation. We tend not to allow our hearts to be broken over sin, when even Jesus wept over Jerusalem. (Luke 13:34-35) We say we desire revival, but then we try to avoid the repentance that is essential for it, thinking we are personally OK. How foolish! We need to learn from Nehemiah and Daniel. If we will do so, I believe we will see God act as dramatically on our behalf as He did for them.

I have had the huge blessing of generations of forebears who loved and served God, but they were no more perfect than I am. I have relatives who are stuck in intellectual pride and treat religion as a desirable accessory. I’ve been that way myself! Personally, I have taken God’s grace for granted, thinking I was entitled to it instead of living in grateful obedience. And I certainly haven’t spent time agonizing over the sins of my nation, whether that be the US or Japan. I need to delight in the joy of the Lord, certainly, but I am also not to run from heartbroken repentance, on every level the Lord directs. I don’t yet have a sufficient grasp of the holiness of the Lord, to be appropriately horrified and disgusted at sin. I’ve still got a lot of growing to do!

Father, thank You for this Word. Thank You for Your recent call to regular fasting, and that I’ve gotten started on that in a small way. May I be Your agent to do Your will in Your way, exactly as You desire, so that Your plans may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Death as Reward; February 26, 2024

Posted on February 27, 2024 by jgarrott

2 Chronicles 34:27-28 “Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. Now I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.”

As verse 28 indicates, this is one of several places in the Bible where people are rewarded for their faithfulness with death. We have a lot of trouble with that! We forget that, as Paul said, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” (Philippians 1:23) Our focus is almost exclusively temporal, and so we see death as entirely negative. I am no advocate for suicide or euthanasia, but we need to realize that this life is no more than a prelude to eternity. It is an opportunity to experience God’s grace and love and commit ourselves to Him in faith, but even a hundred-year lifespan is no more than an instant compared to eternity. Paul wrote about this a good bit, and as he said, “We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) When we understand that Jesus didn’t die and then rise again just for himself, but so as to conquer death itself for all who believe, then death loses its terror completely. Those who are left behind do suffer loneliness, at least to a degree, and grief itself is real and not to be put down, but there many times when, for the one dying, death is a huge victory. We act and pray as though we don’t believe that, because all too often that’s the case! Our goal should be, not to live a long time necessarily, but however long we live, to hear our Lord say, “’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21, 23) When that is the case, then physical death is a glorious celebration indeed!

My strong shift to this way of thinking happened when my father went to the Lord after heart surgery at 64, and my first, honest reaction was, “He won’t have to retire.” I was terribly lonely about it, having had about 2½ months of genuine fellowship with him as adult to adult, but I knew that it was glory indeed for him. Since then I have lost count of how many people I have “seen off,” and I have seen a wide variety of responses to death. Faith makes all the difference in the world! At 75, this is a far more immediate anticipation for me than it was at 26 when my father graduated, but it is not a sad one at all. My wife has quite a list of physical issues, and there have been specific prophecies that she would go first. That is certainly not anything I look forward to, but I know that when it happens, she will be liberated from all those physical issues, and I am not to begrudge her that. I have no doubt whatsoever as to her destination, or mine. She had a foretaste of heaven when her heart stopped at 27, but the Lord had mercy on me and our daughters and sent her back. That wasn’t the easy course for her, though! I am certainly grateful to have been able to live with her all the years since, and she has touched countless people with the love of God. For her and for me, the question is simply when the Lord will say, “That’s enough. Come on home.” Like for Josiah in today’s passage, that will be a reward.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the privilege of being able to walk with You all these years, in spite of my many failures. I pray that I would be faithful indeed, making full use of all the time You give me in this body, so that Your purposes for me may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Posted in Christian, encouragement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment