Funeral

I promised you a time of open sharing. At this point, I want to open the floor to you to share your personal memories, thoughts, and experiences you had with Christina.

Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 28-31 read as follows:

Isa 40:28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

Isa 40:29 He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Isa 40:30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

Isa 40:31 but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

The old hymn, which we will not sing today, says, “Leaning on the everlasting Arms, safe and secure from all alarms.” The song paints a word picture of someone, perhaps us, with our heads nestled against the Lord, relaxed and still. The passage from Isaiah 40 paints a different word picture; the picture of busy people continuing to work, long after others have dropped out.

By placing our hope in the Lord and applying all our works and efforts for Him and His principles, we will find life rewarding and our energy sustained.

If our work is only good for this life and if our efforts and energy die when we do, we have a sad commentary for our time spent on earth. The “wings” that carry us in this life are capable of carrying us and our labor beyond death, to a legacy and even into heaven.

The Bible teaches that we are saved by the grace and mercy of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 say, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Though our works don’t save us, our works do make a difference. Our works make a difference in how we think of ourselves and they make a difference in what others think of us. Our works don’t get us to heaven, but they make the road more rewarding.

I wanted to leave you with the picture, that the Bible leaves us with, the picture of heaven. The apostle John has a vision and sees heaven and records it for us. This is a portion of what he wrote:

Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

Rev 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Rev 21:16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide.

Rev 21:17 He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick

Rev 21:18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.

Rev 21:19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.

Rev 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.