I have a question for you to think about…
Where or what do you gain comfort from?
What do you rely on for your future?
Some people put their trust in money.
And recently they have been hugely disappointed.
Others in having a good time.
Some in friends.
Some on themselves or their way of doing things.
Some think they are in control and their future all depends on what they do.
What about you what or who are you relying on?
Many things and people that we rely on let us down, will ultimately fail to deliver.
Many people trust money for their future,and now they are very anxious.
Others have skills and abilities but then their health fails or opportunities dry up.
However today I would like you to hear the words of Jesus, from John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God;
Trust also in me.
But you maybe saying why trust Jesus?
I know people who trust Jesus and their life is not better than mine.
Or I am trusting Jesus but things are still tough.
Well we need to put things into perspective.
Often we limit how we see things to what we are experiencing now.
However the bible says what Jesus is promising extends beyond today, beyond this life.
In 1 Peter 1:3-5 we hear,
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
This life is not the end,
it is not where we will end up.
This life is more like a training ground, like the school yard, a stepping stone before we reach eternity.
And God knows that we will need help in this life.
The Psalmist expresses this in Psalm 23.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The writer of Psalm 23 reminds us that we need God to guide us through the difficulties of this life.
Christa may have died.
But it is not the end for her.
You maybe struggling with this, with her passing.
However today is not the end.
It is the beginning of the future.
But how can Christa,
How can any of us have a future with God?
Most of us know that we have flaws,
that we don’t meet God’s expectations.
Unfortunately many people only know Jesus and Christianity as a place of rules and laws.
Many of which seem oppressive and impossible to meet.
But being a follower of Jesus is far more than this.
In fact the rules and laws of Christianity simply highlight something else.
Our need for Jesus.
The way to a life with Jesus is not about being perfect,
not about being sinless…
If this was the case every room in God’s mansion would be empty.
It is about trusting that what Jesus has done for us on the cross will give us life.
In John 3:16-17
Jesus says to us the following
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Did you hear that Jesus wants to save you, save Christa,
that is why he died.
So as you think not only about Christa’s future but also your own.
Look not at what she did or you have done.
Look at what Jesus has done for you.
Because it’s Jesus life, suffering, death and resurrection that has paid for Christa’s room, your room and mine in God’s mansion.
So let us thank God.
and rely on Jesus to take us there.
Amen
