What if God was to preach your eulogy? Are you a Christian?

Nevertheless, “unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it will bring forth much fruit”. John 12:24  The full impact of your life and legacy will only be fully measured by Heaven.

I went to a funeral yesterday; there were tears, hugs, words of condolences, memories of a life being spoken of by those who shared it. I saw a friend say goodbye to his father.  All the while, I could not stop thinking, "What if God was to preach my eulogy?"  With the understanding, that if God preached my funeral, He knows me better than I know myself; and He cannot lie.  What would He say about my life?  He knows and sees all things, everything I have thought, said and done, even when I did not think anyone was paying attention.  Would he say at that moment “Well done, good and faithful servant”? 

“As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.”  “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”  “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him.”  Psalms 103:16, James 4:14, Psalms 103:17  Will the flower and smoke of my life leave a sweet aroma, in the nostrils of those who share in my life?   Or the stench of a blackened and burned out house.

There are those, whom I know that when God calls them home, and if He were to give their eulogy would simply smile, and say 'well done, well done'; there are still others that I know and love dearly that if that day were to come anytime soon, and God were to give their eulogy, he would stand in silence as a tear of sorrow would fall down His cheek.  As for me, I am probably a toss up, depending on His grace.

I live my  life on the fringe, always on the edge, observing.  I am not the one who stands in line to offer my condolences at a funeral, you will find me leaning against the back wall, watching and thinking.  I am the one that you will find at the edge of the picture, never the center.  I am the one with friends, but know that those friends have closer friends.  The one who has a daughter who is not really his daughter.  I am the one who is a friend for a reason or a season, like everyone who is that type of friend we always occupy the fringe.  From the edge I see things clearly, the entire picture; from the fringe I am best positioned to intercept hell, as it makes a beeline for those in the center of the picture.  Then I fade away, my reason or season completed.  

Every so often from the edge you get a glimpse of a profound truth, last night was one of those times.  There is a very thin veil between the saints on earth and the saints in heaven, and if you peer close enough, and if God permits revelation, you will see a great cloud of witnesses to this reality.  I caught a glimpse of it last night as the hula dancers concluded their tribute to this man, and his son drew the service given in his father’s honor to a close in a prayer for the living.  The cloud of God’s presence was with us.  Though those of us on this side of the veil are saddened, following his son’s example, we will continue to worship God here on earth, in Spirit and in truth.  

But we must always remember and never forget those on the other side of that thin veil worshiping right along with us, encouraging us on into greater depths and heights; greater expressions of adoration and love for our Lord and Savior.  Those who are even now resting their heads in the presence of Christ.  Those who have come before us and are where they and we were meant to be and they are doing what they and we were created to do.  Love on and by Jesus, both now and forever. 

The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridges to cross and which ones to burn.  The man, whose son was fondly recalling his life, took some time to cross the bridge that God want’s all of us to willingly cross.  It took him most of his life to cross the bridge and accept Jesus as his lord and savior; but once he did, he did so with gusto, and devotion.  He did so not only in words, but also in deeds.  His step of faith served as an example that hope always remains, that it is never to late to cross the bridge, to be welcomed home with love.  Perhaps that was God’s plan along. 

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9 12-13

What if God was to preach your eulogy?

If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees - Christian Life

If you have not yet figured it out, I am passionate that theology and doctrine is taught.  NOT just so that we may grow in head knowledge because you can be a Bible-head and still chose to deliberately violate the will of God.  1 Timothy 4:16 says “Watch your life and doctrine closely.”  The two are tied together, thus learning doctrine without it affecting your life is meaningless - we need doctrine to melt our hearts and cause it to shape us into loving God and people more, and wanting to follow His will for our lives as a result.

The Gospel is not just, about what happens when we die, but about our lives being changed here.  I know that like most Christians, we do not want to dwell on the reality of hell, but at the same time, we must never forget there is a hell, even if it is a mystery to what it is specifically.  Other wise what is the point of examining yourself to see if you are in the faith?  Therefore, we must address the issue of Hell.  However, do so; we must confront our own view of God. 

“Do you want to believe in a God who shows His power by punishing non-Christians and who magnifies His mercy by blessing Christians forever?  Do you want to?  Be honest.  Do you want to believe in a God like this?  Here’s my gut-level, honest answer: No.

No way.  I have family and friends who reject Jesus.  I do not want to believe in a God who punishes non-Christians.  Okay, maybe He should punish extremely wicked people – that makes some sense.  But punishment in hell for seemingly good people, or those who simply chose the wrong religion?  That feels a bit harsh, at lest according to my sense of justice.

But let me ask you another question.

Could you believe in a God who decides to punish people who don’t believe in Jesus?  A God who wants to show His power by punishing those who don’t follow His Son?

The problem is that we often respond to the second question because of our response to the first.  In other words, because there are things that we don’t want to believe about God, we therefore decide that we can’t believe them.” Francis Chan in his book ‘Erasing Hell: What God said about eternity and the things we made up’

We cannot let pop culture define hell as something cartoon- or fable-like and harmless. No partial truths. 

Key Facts about Eternity

1. Everyone will exist eternally either in heaven or hell  (Daniel 12:2,3; Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:14,15)

2. Everyone has only one life in which to determine his or her destiny.  (Hebrews 9:27)

3. Heaven or hell is determined by whether a person believes in Christ alone to save them and does what Christ commands.  (John 3:16, 36)

4. Hell was designed originally for Satan and his demons.  (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10)

5. Hell will also punish the sin of those who reject Christ.  (Matthew 13:41,50; Revelation   20:11-15; 21:8).

6. Hell is conscious torment.  (Matthew 13:50; Mark 9:48; Revelation 14:10)

7. Hell is eternal and irreversible.  (Revelation 14:11; Revelation 20:14; Revelation 20:15)

As a Christian, we need to remind ourselves  that the Gospel is not just about what happens when we die, but about lives being changed here, thus we must talk about Hell.   Because if we care about the people Jesus loves, the people He died for so that they would not experience hell, but have abundant kingdom life here on this earth and be with Him for all eternity.  How can we not?

Or to quote Charles Spurgeon “If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies.  If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees.  Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”  

Hatred is the Rabid Dog that Turns on its Owner - Christian or not

"Happy are the merciful.”  Matthew 5:7

A man once said to John Wesley, "I never forgive.”  Wesley replied, "Well, sir, I hope that you never sin."

Mercy is when you chose to forgive someone who has hurt you, expecting nothing in return.  Somewhere along the way, you have been hurt by someone in your life.  You have been you have been criticized, lied to... betrayed...  gossiped about... your good name has been slandered...  your character has been called into question... someone you thought was a friend has stabbed you in the back... someone has cheated you or worst - cheated on you...  You have been hurt.  I could quote verse after verse from the Bible on why we should forgive (just start with James 2:13, Colossians 3:13, & Mathew 18:35), but instead this message will focus on the practical reason to chose the path of forgiveness. 

Let's admit it, it would be easier if the person who hurt you came and got on their knees, acknowledged the guilt for what they have done, and begged you for your forgiveness (but that's not going to happen) but even then, FORGIVENESS IS HARD.  Because when a wrong has been committed, or worst yet, when evil has lashed out at you, someone has to pay the price for it, and when someone has hurt us, the natural human inclination is to pay him or her back.  At a minimum, we want to get even.   

 

However, when you make the choice to forgive, you are electing to release those who have hurt you from their obligation to suffer the consequences and instead you take that cost upon yourself.  If you choose to continue in your desire to seek revenge, then you have chosen the path of resentment; and resentment is where you let your hurt become hate.  If you have grown bitter toward someone, has it done you any good?  Has resentment brought you any relief from your hurt?  Has hatred toward the person who hurt you resulted in any peace or joy for you?  No, no and no!  "Hatred is the rabid dog that turns on its owner.  Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist.  Bitterness is the trap that snares the hunter."  Max Lucado

Resentment does not work.  It cannot change the past or the person who hurt you.  Resentment cannot take away your hurt.  It just causes you to nurse your grudge and become bitter in the process.  How's that working out for you?  We are talking about the hurt that others have inflicted on you.  But in one sense, if you do not let go of your resentment, you are inflicting emotional pain on yourself, and those you love; which, in many cases, is worse than the way that someone else hurt you.

By not letting go of your resentment, you have chained yourself to the past.  You are re-living the hurt day after day.  You are re-opening the wound every time.  Whereas the person hurt you once; by holding onto the hurt, you are hurting yourself with it over and over again.

Resentment does not make you feel any better.  In fact, it makes you feel worse. Joyfulness is the promise for those who are merciful and forgiving.  It is just the opposite for those who will not forgive.  Resentment leaves you miserable and bitter.  Have you ever known someone who says, "You know, I feel so much better being resentful"?  I haven't, but I have met many bitter, unhappy people.

In my life, much of the hurts that weighted me down for so long, were those hurts that were left un-forgiven, not because I couldn't forgive, but rather because I wouldn't forgive, and it brought me to the brink of utter destruction.  In the course of my journey I have learned that forgiveness is not saying that what was done against you was okay, or pretending that you have not been hurt; and while you may walk with shadows of that hurt for the rest of your life,  it does not have to be your life.  

The Greek word for forgiveness means, "to release” isn't it time to release the hurt.