Preciousness Of Death

Funeral Eulogy for Betty Jean Reeves

John 14:1-14:6

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me.

Joh 14:2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.

Joh 14:4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.

Joh 14:5 Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You go, and how can we know the way?

Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.

Betty Jean Reeves, a daughter, a mother, an aunt, a sister, a cousin, a friend, (known too many of us as momma, the countless friends of her son Danny and I am proud too count myself among them) and a child of God. Today we celebrate the home going of one who decided to let Jesus Christ make a difference in her life. It’s something how we see death as a time for sorrow and for grief, in that we are saying good-bye to someone we love. God shares in our suffering and grief in that the Lord knows the loss that we feel. Remember how the suffering of His dear friends Marry and Martha touched our Lord Jesus when Lazarus died and moved Jesus to tears, even though He knew with all certainty where Lazarus had gone. God gives us a special hope in moments like these. I pray that the family and friends of Betty find the hope, which only the Lord can give in times like this.

God has another view by which He looks at death. It says in Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Let it be known today that something precious happened in heaven, Tuesday morning when Betty breathed out for the last time. Betty found freedom from the body that was keeping her from serving the Lord in the way she wanted to serve. Today she can once again sing the praises of her Lord Jesus Christ. We have a reason to be happy for her on this occasion.

Betty’s death was precious, because she died in the Lord. My friend’s death has a date set for us all, but that date will only be precious if we die in the Lord. All of life is a journey to death. It takes some of us longer than others to reach our destination but we eventually will get there. Some of us take fancier and more prestigious routes than others, but the final exit is still at the same stop called death.

Once we reached that stop, the issue becomes whose waiting for us to give us directions on the other side. Jesus said, "I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also." There’s nothing like having a guide when you reach unfamiliar territory. We can rejoice in knowing that while we were all catching a little sleep Tuesday morning, Betty had a guide leading her into the presence of God."

Some ask if God is loving, why is there death. I see it as, because God is loving there is death. Can you imagine what a burden it would be to have to live life in the way we know it forever? What it would be to have pain in our bodies, unforgiveness and bitterness in our soul, or to be stuck at the bottom of poverty forever. God has seen all the evil, and the madness, and the pain that goes on in the world and God decided that at some point this must stop.

That point is death.

God has always wanted to be in a close relationship to human beings, because that is why He created us. But God is holy and righteous. Once we did wrong as human beings, the penalty for that wrong was that we were to die. God’s holiness would destroy us if we attempted to be in His presence with wrong in our lives. That is why God does not dwell with us as He did in the beginning of time. Our behavior brought about the separation.

God loved us to much to leave us alone, and God knew there was nothing we could do to pay the penalty for the wrong we have done. That is why Jesus Christ entered into the world. Jesus offered himself as a payment for the wrong that we have done. It is through Jesus Christ, that we find the forgiveness and mercy of God. To receive it, we simply acknowledge, yes God I know that I have done wrong and deserve death for it. I ask your forgiveness of my wrong and I accept the work that Jesus Christ has done on my behalf. I give my life to serve Him in appreciation of the work He has done for me.