It's been a few years back now that I can recall when I learned I had lost a wonderful, sweet Facebook friend, Helene Rutherford. Her sudden passing took many of us by surprise. Helene was a frequent visitor to my Sunday Blogs. Her last comment that posted was, "AWESOME! AMEN! Seems I came back right on time. What a wonderful message." Helene's passing got me thinking. One of the very first prayers I learned as a child was the bedtime prayer called, "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep." You probably know it by heart .. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to take." What stands out in that prayer is, "If I should die before I wake." If you think about it, it's not odd at all but a real possibility death could come before we wake one more day. We all hope to live a long, healthy life but reality dictates that you can never be sure. You could be struck by a stray bullet, killed by a drunk driver or someone overcome with road rage, a renegade gang member being in the wrong place at the right time, a sudden heart attack, an unexpected tumor, blood infection, sepsis, a bacterial or viral infection, any myriad of diseases, Covid, etc. Who knows what will happen next. Any of us could be struck down at any moment. "Man does not know his time" says Ecclesiastes 9:12. There are no guarantees that any of us will be alive 24 hours from now. How much longer do you expect to live? If you are in your 20's, you probably expect to live at least 50 more years. If you are 50, you probably expect another 20-30 years. And if you are over 65, you certainly know the sands of time are slipping away.
It's fair to note that one mark of genuine Christianity is when you come to the end of your life you are still holding onto what you believe. THAT was Helene. When someone dies suddenly, we all want to know: What were his or her final words? What was on his or her mind as he or she was exiting this world? Did he or she leave any messages, see angels, speak as if they were addressing Jesus? Case in point: I wanted to know what Helene's last words to me were and I knew where to look. I knew she enjoyed the blogs and would often tell me how they enriched her. I can feel satisfied knowing what a spiritual blessing I was to her. The greatest thing you can do for your children, grandchildren, family AND FRIENDS is to pass on your faith. You never know how it may uplift, encourage, or strengthen them just at a time of need. Abraham passed on his faith to Isaac, Isaac gave it to Jacob, Jacob gave it to Joseph, and Joseph gave his faith to the entire nation of Israel. And though my parents were Catholics and raised all of us in that religion, it laid my spiritual foundation by teaching me about Jesus Christ, and for that I am forever grateful! Do you know what's cool? That the Christian faith is not a sprint and it's not really a marathon. It's a relay race! You and I are running the same race but we are but one member of a team that stretches across generations. You see, I have faith because someone gave it to me, and someone gave it to the person who gave it to me! One way I'm personally passing the baton is through these Sunday blogs. Helene reached for that baton. Think about it. The relay stretches back more than 2,000 years!
Generations come and go, people come and go, but only God remains forever. This is our hope at the edge of death. This is why as Christians, we can rejoice and feel peace at the passing of another believer. I will always miss Helene as a Facebook friend and a personality that was always positive. She loved the Lord and was not shy about her faith. We don't need to fear death because Christians are immortal after his or her time on earth is done. If we could only grasp the fact that WE CANNOT DIE UNTIL GOD'S APPOINTED TIME FOR US FINALLY ARRIVES. This is why some people survive horrific accidents and others not. There have been sole survivors of airliner crashes, motorcycle accidents, heart attacks, cancer, etc. when others have died from much less. God is the Author of life and death ... God. We cannot know the answer ourselves, but God's appointed time for Helene had come. God can and does choose to work accordingly in order that angels, people or circumstances help you survive, or He can say it's your last breath here on earth. Helene's time on earth was over, her mission completed. She was a sower in this race. A sower may die but their seed remains. I do not know how far we have to go until we reach the end of our earthly road, but I know this -- that road is paved with God's love, promises and faithfulness. Therefore we don't need to be afraid of leaving this earth. If a friend dies and they were a believer, you have reason to rejoice. Every follower of Jesus has a role to play in the unfolding of God's eternal plan. Helene was no different. She touched many lives through her faith in God and passed her baton to others along the way.
Always keep in mind that death cannot exhaust the promises of GOD! That's why Paul could say, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55). We know that death is not the end but the beginning for the children of God. We will all eventually go through the process of physical death, through that unknown valley none of us can escape. The good news is that Jesus will be waiting on the other side for all who believed in Him and followed Him through this life. We will not walk through that unknown valley alone. The Light of Jesus will steer us into our heavenly realm. No child of God needs to fear the moment of death. Pain, disease, sickness and suffering will be silenced and the glorious life with God will fill us with joy and peace. I am rejoicing that Helene was escorted to the arms of Jesus where she will live forevermore and that for me, isn't goodbye. I will meet her someday. In closing, we don't know how many days we will be allotted. I hope that everyone reading this blog will take the same path as Helene, that they will run the relay race and pass the baton onto their children and grandchildren so that in the end, regardless of how short or long their lives were, they will have the victory over death and enter eternal life with the Lord.
Until He comes,
-Pat-
No comments:
Post a Comment