Over the past two decades of my service as a pastor at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, I have been richly blessed by the many believers who came into my life as faithful members of this wonderful congregation. They are all saints in God’s eyes, in spite of their failures, foibles, and struggles, because no matter what they experienced, they held fast to their faith in Jesus Christ.
They have taught me by word and example, showing by their lives the truth of the Gospel and the reality of a loving God who has redeemed and changed them. Their dedication and love for the Lord showed through their loving service in the various missions and ministries of the church, and in their personal relationships with others. Their attitudes and words were loving and gentle, and though they often spoke boldly for the truth, they spoke the truth in love. They have not always lived easy lives – in fact, often the opposite – yet it was in their difficult times that their faith often shone the brightest. Their response to adversity was a powerful testimony to the One who empowered them to endure and even triumph over pain and loss.
I was and am blessed by these disciples of Jesus Christ, by their faith and their works, and have found that my own faith has strengthened and grown because of them. I am a better man today than I was when I began my ministry 23 years ago, thanks to knowing Christ and these, his faithful servants.
I am a better man today than I was when I began my ministry 23 years ago, thanks to knowing Christ and these, his faithful servants.
With this in mind, I have been touched and saddened by the passing of two very special women over this past month – both very special, faithful, and active servants who endured the ravages of terminal diseases on their way to be with the Lord. The first was named Karen (not my wife of the same name), and now this week the second, named Diana. Their loss has been palpable, and has impacted many people, just as their lives impacted many people for the good through their unselfish service and powerful Christian testimonies.
In both cases, these women glorified God even in their deaths by living their final months in the same way they lived their lives previously: at peace in the Lord, and in service to him. They comforted their families and friends by their continued strong faith and acceptance of the Lord’s will for their lives, but they also gave of their remaining strength to serve others in ministries that were close to their hearts. Karen continued to lead the local GriefShare ministry, helping men and women who have lost loved ones and who are struggling with their losses – even as she knew her own time was fast approaching. Diana returned to serve the ministry of God’s Hidden Treasures in Ukraine, where she helped minister to wheelchair-bound children and adults, even as her illness was robbing her of her own motor abilities, so that she would need a chair herself.
Their deaths provided them with relief from their physical illnesses, but more importantly, they opened the way for their entry into heaven, where they will enjoy the presence of their God and Savior forever.
Even as I ponder these two special women and thank God for the privilege of having known them in this life, there are a few passages of Scripture that come to mind which give me comfort and a healing perspective:
Psalm 116:15. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” I always liked this verse, because it affirms that God really cares about us, each and every one, and not just the great heroes written about in the Bible – like Ruth, Moses, David, etc. And he not only cares about us in this life, but he knows when our life here ends; our deaths are precious to him, that is they are important and meaningful to him.
And he not only cares about us in this life, but he knows when our life here ends; our deaths are precious to him, that is they are important and meaningful to him.
And this is from the almighty Creator and God of the universe; our insignificant lives could come and go with no impact or effect on God at all, but because of his great love he truly cares for us and about us, and whether we live or die or perish eternally matters to him. Why else would he send his Son to die for our sake that we might not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)? So, when I think of the two special women who have just passed away, I know that they and their deaths were precious in the sight of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote so many wonderful things: eternal truths, personal struggles, and practical encouragement to fellow believers. What I like about this passage is its two-fold approach to grief. First, Paul affirms that we do grieve, for we do lose loved ones and experience the destruction of death which ends so many beautiful lives in this world. He affirms this even for Christians; we are not blind to the struggles of sickness and death in the world. We are not “Pollyannas” who refuse to see anything wrong, who live in a happy, make-believe world of puppies and kittens and unicorns. Christians are realists – the only true realists. The second thing that Paul affirms is the reason we grieve differently from the rest of the world, and that is because we do have hope. We know that death is not the end; those who die in the Lord have only fallen asleep and await the day that the risen Savior, Jesus Christ, returns with those who have fallen asleep in him. The rest of this chapter describes the great day of resurrection when our bodies will be raised imperishable and our spirits reunited with them, to be with the Lord forever. That’s why our grief is different: it is a temporary grief, soon to be replaced by unending joy and happiness in the presence of the departed saints and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
That’s why our grief is different: it is a temporary grief, soon to be replaced by unending joy and happiness in the presence of the departed saints and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Romans 14:8. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. This is another great, inspired word from the Apostle Paul. We who believe in Christ are his, no matter what happens to us, whether we are alive in this world, or whether we die – correction: when we die. As Paul wrote elsewhere, nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, neither life nor death nor anything else (Romans 8:35-39). This is good to know, for not only are we inseparable from our Lord and Savior, we also are his, that is, we belong to him. He owns us by right of creating us, by right of sustaining us, and by right of redeeming us from the sin and death which we had deservedly brought upon ourselves. We are his, bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23), and he will in no way be denied his eternal inheritance, which includes us all. This perspective is critical for us to understand, for if we belong to him, then everything we do, say, or think in this life is on his behalf. We speak and act not on our own account, but on his. What we accomplish is his doing and for his glory, not for ourselves. This attitude was one of Karen and Diana’s greatest attributes, for they both realized that Christ is the center of their lives, and that whether they lived or died, they were the Lord’s.
Psalm 30:5 (NKJV). “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” A temporary grief, indeed!
There are many other passages that give me hope at times like this, but today these stand out. I thank God for the honor of knowing these women (and other men and women like them!) and seeing them demonstrate the Gospel in their lives. Pray for comfort for their husbands and families, and pray that we are encouraged to follow their examples, as we live our lives as faithful followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.
Read: 1 Thessalonians 4, and Romans 8
Thank you Pastor for your kind words.