When we gathered in the cemetery on January 11, 2018 to conclude Dad's memorial service, I shared this simple message:
"The cemetery is the most difficult place a family will meet. Our eyes deceive us. Our feelings swing to extremes. Our hearts sink. Even though we know it is not possible to bury someone who is not present, we tremble. The pain is a reminder to our minds and consciences that we were not created for this, neither a casket nor a grave. We were designed by God for life with Him and the enjoyment of Him.
But sin ruined it all, originally in the first man Adam and now in all of us. We groan. The trees groan. The ground groans. Nature groans. BUT GOD offers us redemption, freedom from sin's grip and penalty. He gave His Son to take our judgment, to spill His blood and wash our sins away. He lives today to welcome you, and 'whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, will be saved.'
Look across the cemetery, see the hundreds perhaps thousands of monuments. If the Lord delays His return, we cannot escape this day. Our mortality is 100%. This place is where hope ends for everyone. Now that sounds harsh, but let me explain. For those who do not know the Lord Jesus, He is the last person you want to meet on the other side of the grave. Let's be honest! If you offend Him every moment of every day and then add to the offense by rejecting, dismissing, or ignoring THE WAY of salvation He alone gives, then you should expect that He will really be offended when you meet Him in the next world.
But if you know and trust the Lord, hope ends too, as does faith. Why? Because you don't need hope or faith when you see Him as He is. And how is He? Lofty, exalted, worthy, enjoyable, and pleasurable in every aspect of His glory. Faith and hope reach their end too, but the love of Christ will still endure even after every star in the sky has dissolved to nothing.
The Lord is enough. His grace is sufficient. His love is unending. His joy cannot be overcome by any hardship of this world. I will always be satisfied in the care of this amazing Lord, who cannot fail and does not fear, Amen?"
January 22, 2018
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