Eulogy Lillie M. Jackson

Funeral Eulogy Lillie Jackson 11/29/2015

Psalms 116:15-15 Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 Romans 8:28-35

God took notice and smiled on Monday morning, and all that great crowd witnesses that surround us gave out a loud cheer as Sister Lillie Jackson rose up out of her bed and took her place among the saints who have gone on before us.

There was no question as to whether or not she had a spot, because she believed the promises of Jesus, when Jesus said in the word of God, “I am going away to prepare a place for you and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.”

Knowing Lillie, as soon as she heard the cheers, she probably said, “well it’s about time, I’ve been ready to go for a while now.” Lillie had already decided she did not want to reach 90 and after 89 years and two months, she was getting a little impatient that Jesus had not called her home yet.

The word of God says in Psalms 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." This means that on November 23rd , Lillie brought joy in a special way to the heart of God.

Lillie Jackson was more than a daughter, more than a wife, more than a mother, more than a sister, more than a relative, more than a good friend, and more than a strong Black woman. Brothers and sisters I submit to you this day, that Lillie Jackson was, and still is, a servant and a child of the Most High God.

Jesus said, , "If any of you would come after me, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their lives will lose it, but whoever loses their lives for me will find it. What good will it be for a you to gain the whole world, and yet lose your soul? Or what can you give in exchange for your soul?

Sister Lillie Jackson picked up her cross to follow Jesus Christ, thereby making her death on Monday just a means of passing from one form of service to God to another.

There use to be a beer commercial ad that said, "you only live once, give it all the gusto you can in life." That slogan actually comes from the Old Testament in the bible. Only the beer commercial stopped halfway with the verse. The verse goes on to say, give it all you got, but realize that God is going to hold you accountable for the way you live it.

If you were to die today, would you be ready to give God an account for the decisions you have made, and would you know with a certainty that you would spend eternity in heaven with God? If the answer is not yes, then perhaps your life is being lived in vain.

God gives each of us an assignment to work with in this world. God provides us all with a gift to offer. In thinking of the verse which probably captures the essence of the ministry and mission of Lillie Jackson , “I think of the verse found in Romans 12:15. Rejoice with those who do rejoice and weep with those who weep.”

The wins and losses she suffered during her life made her a perfect candidate to develop the gift of empathizing with and encouraging others as she journeyed through life. Some of the words used to describe Lillie were, feisty, very truthful, active, compassionate, humorous, friendly, strict, direct, and fashionable.

Now there are some people who look good in what they wear, but they don’t know it. Lillie never had that problem. She was convinced she looked good in whatever she put on. Some would think, wow that dress really makes be look nice. For Lillie it was more,” that dress sure looks good on me.” There’s nothing wrong with a little self confidence.

Do not believe the old cliché, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. If that had of been true, Lillie never would have gotten to marry the love of her life, Robert Jackson. Lillie was not known for her good cooking, so she did the best thing since she liked to eat, and that was to marry a chef. Her husband Robert, not only loved to cook, he was the head chef down at Stouffers, back when we were not allowed to hold those kind of jobs in those kind of places.

I guess Robert knew that as long as he kept cooking, he didn’t have to worry about his wife ever thinking about another man. They had each other and they had God in their lives. They were charter members together in the birth of Glenville Presbyterian Church. They celebrated 24 years together before his death in 1970. They did a lot of things together, but one thing they didn’t do was to teach Lillie how to cook. Countless stories could be written about burned up greens, not to tasty this or that, and “maybe we should just get a pizza.”