2008-08-25 10:16:00
"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints" (Psalm 116:15). "Therefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
Today's texts are great verses to memorize and hide deep in our hearts when we face the death of a loved one or our own eventual death. Today I want to share a tribute to a dear friend who passed away last week. Although few of you will know Hope I pray that this tribute might remind you of someone like her in your own life. If you would rather skip this portion, the exposition is at the bottom of today's message.
Hope Winchoba had been a part of the church we served in Taunton Massachusetts since she was a small child when the church was started in 1928. In fact she was in the very first service conducted. She and her late husband John (with whom she had been married nearly 65 years) lived on a small island in the Atlantic Ocean.
We visited with Hope several times since we moved from that area and once she came to Lancaster County to visit us. We spoke to her periodically on the phone through the years.
But most of our memories are from when we pastored in Taunton and regularly saw her and John. We had such a great time visiting with them as they were both very colorful people. John once insisted that I eat a live quahog clam we had dug up together in the bay. I did it, but decided right there and then that I prefer to eat my clams in chowder! We returned to their home and Hope made up a delicious clam chowder we enjoyed together.
I recall my last visit in their home before John died and the tender moment of kneeling with them and thanking God for their lives. We knew at this time that the time of his departure was near and spoke frankly with one another. A great peace enveloped that home and I left grateful for the privilege of pastoring such fine people. They had been unable to attend church for some time, due to John's weakness, but before I left he asked me to take his monthly financial contribution to the church. I was humbled by his faithful stewardship but he quickly reminded me, "It's the Lord's money." Pastors are to be examples of faithfulness to their congregation, but it's often members of the congregation who teach us by their faithful commitment to God's teachings. Hope went on to live another 9 years but she has now joined John and all the others who have gone before her.
The first daily verse shares the view of death from God's perspective. "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints." What a joy and assurance that all who know Jesus will be in His very presence at the time of death and that He reckons our death as precious.
Perhaps man's perspective is best expressed by the Apostle Paul who wrote, "to live is Christ and to die is gain." We'll miss Hope but we know she's in a far better place and that one day we will see her again. And so will all who have loved Jesus Christ and received His salvation.
In our second daily verse the Apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonian believers regarding the death of their loved ones. He gives Spirit-inspired teaching concerning the coming of the Lord and its relation to those who died prior to the Lord's return. He assures them (and us) that when we meet the Lord the dead in fact will rise first.
He ends this section with this phrase, "Therefore comfort one another with these words." What comfort and encouragement this teaching surely gave these early followers of Christ and all of us through the church age. And likewise today we can comfort and encourage one another with these same words of Holy Scripture.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, the comfort You provide us through the Scriptures is sort of like a safety net catching us as we tumble through life's ups and downs. You have not immunized us from the same experiences of those who have not placed their trust in You, but Your strength is perfected in our weakness. You not only provide grace and overcoming for our present needs, but You have prepared a place for us where the best is yet to come; where we no longer face separation, pain, or sin. Keep us faithful in our walk until that appointed day when You call us to our heavenly dwelling place. Amen.
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