Funeral Eulogy Gloria Jester
By Rick Gillespie- Mobley
Summary: This the funeral service for Gloria, a believer who grew up serving the Lord and was faithful the rest of her life.
Gloria Jester
Death first appeared in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. It was a frightening concept to them and has been for most of humankind ever since. But even before Jesus Christ conquered death by rising from the dead, God saw death in a different light.
From God’s perspective, death could be rendered completely powerless depending on who was doing the dying. 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 September 30, Gloria brought joy in a special way to the heart of God.
What was it about her that moved the heart of God? What was it about her, that moved our hearts to tears, when we discovered that she was now waiting for our arrival in heaven? What was it about her that caused us to celebrate this afternoon?
She was a faithful witness of what the love of Jesus Christ can do in the life of a person and have it spill out into the lives of others. In many ways she was a fountain, shooting up the joy of the Lord, drenching others who would get close enough to see just how wonderful she really was.
She was a faithful servant of the One, True Living God.
The actual date of Gloria’s death is probably not written down in a record book that we can easily get our hands on, you see the date on the obituary refers to the date her body cease to function. The real Gloria, the part that lives forever, died a long time ago, when she heard of the call of Jesus Christ as a young girl upon her life.
How often do we read in an obituary of someone giving their life to Christ at at an early age and that’s all it has to say about their involvement in the life of the church or in their walk with the Lord. But not Gloria. She was faithful to the end.
Jesus said, , "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a person if he or she gains the whole world, yet forfeits his or her soul? Or what can a person give in exchange for his or her soul?
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he or she has done.
Gloria picked up her cross to follow Jesus Christ, thereby making her death on Tuesday just a means of passing from one form of service to God to another. How does a person go about denying himself or herself to follow Jesus?
It begins with the realization that there is more to life than what we can see around us. It continues with the understanding that everyday, all of us are making choices for our lives that affect us and others. Not only are choices being made, the Word of God tells us that a record is being kept of every decision that we make, and that one day we will give an account to God for those decisions.
. 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.
The good news about Gloria, is that her living has not been in vain. God gives each of us an assignment to work with in this world. We cannot let the outward circumstances of our lives hinder us in fulfilling the task that is before us.
Gloria was created by God to be a peacemaker, a servant, and a worshipper. A peacemaker is always easy to get along with. I can tell you now that if you could not get along with Gloria, something was wrong with you. Gloria walked and carried herself with a peace that came from God.
To be a peacemaker, you can’t be thinking of yourself all the time. You have to have simple wants and desires. Gloria could be happy with a Hershey bar and a bowl of oatmeal. She didn’t have to diamonds on her dresser in her bedroom to feel good about herself..
As long as she had her personal stash of oatmeal raisins and snickerdoodle cookies with some popcorn to pop, she was okay. Every now and then she would let you into her room to share her goodies.
Peacemakers have to be good listeners. Gloria was a very intelligent woman. An avid reader, a word puzzle solver, and a lover of trvia games like Jeapardy and wheel of fortune. Her knowledge from a vast array of sources including the Word of God made her the kind of person you would want to talk to if you had a problem in your life.
Peacemakers know how to keep things secret. Michelle referred to her mother as her own personal vault. Whatever she gave to her grandmother could be locked inside of her. It did not matter if it was one of her deepest secrets, or some money she asked her to hold onto. Whatever she deposited with her grandmother it was safe.
Being a peacemaker doesn’t make you a pushover. It often builds the respect others have for you. She didn’t go around yelling and screaming in the house. But when Granny said hush, everybody knew it was time to hush.
Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons and daughters of God.
Gloria was a peacemaker in the church. You never heard any he said, she said, stuff coming out of her mouth. She carried a spirit of harmony with her throughout her ministry in the life of the church. You didn’t see her chasing after gossip because she chose to believe in the best in people. She was a quiet person who took her challenges straight to the throne of grace at the feet of Jesus.
Gloria had the heart of a servant. In her family she often put the needs of others ahead of her own. There was no valley to low to go down or mountain to high for her to climb to do her best for her daughters Myra and Lois. She had an unconditional love for her daughters. She served them no matter what.
She was a great mender. If they had clothes that were torn or ripped, she’d say bring them here. She sowed them back together again. There were times when she made the clothing they needed to wear.
As a servant she loved to see her family happy. Their joy was her joy. Thanksgiving was one of her favorite holidays because it meant family was coming together and it was another opportunity to bless somebody.
Everybody had their task for the Thanksgiving meal, but everybody wanted Gloria to make the yams. She served her family with blue and white nice plates. She enjoyed making Tuna Casserole l and homemade candied apples.
Gloria had a love for her sisters and brothers. She was willing to serve them in whatever way that she could.
Jesus once said, whomever among you would be great, must first be servant of all. I don’t think Gloria ever set out to be the greatest among us, but she did have the heart of being a servant in the life of the church.
No job was beneath her. When Gloria served on committees, she always did her part and then some. She would be just as content, with a broom in her hand as she was a microphone on a stage. She didn’t have a lazy bone in her body.
At Glenville when our church needed a secretary, she didn’t feel qualified to do the job because she didn’t know that much about the computer software we were using, but she wanted to help out. So she volunteered to do what she could to help out until we found someone.
Her heart of a servant quickly shined through in the volunteer work she did and it wasn’t long before we decided to invest in her and equip her with the skills she needed. What she thought was a month’s volunteer stint, turned into a decade position as our church secretary.
There was never of doubt in our minds that we had chosen the right person. Her servant like attitude combined with her peacemaking skills made her the perfect person to work in the church office. She always had our back as her pastors.
Her being elevated to being ordained as a deacon and then later as an elder never stopped her from walking in humility, asking the question, “what can I do to help.”
Gloria was a worshipper. It was a reality in her home. Her children and grandchildren testified of her spirituality in the home that carried the presence of God because she lived according to what she knew. Her being in the presence of God in her bedroom with her bible reading and devotionals was on of the pillars in her life.
When the liturgical dance program started, she was there to try and praise God in the dance. I could tell you she could dance like the angels, but that wouldn’t quite be true. Sometimes the group would be turning in one direction and Gloria would be turning in the other before she caught herself. She would laugh with that Gloria grin and twinkle in her eye and keep going.
But it was the spirit inside of her that wanted to praise God that caused the other dancers to stick with her. They decided to help Gloria out by making sure she was the end of the line. I admired how she was one of the oldest dancers there was, and she was ready to go the next time they called for the adult liturgical dancers.
God gave her a voice to sing and she used her alto voice to the glory of God. I think she may have felt closest to God as she offered praise and worship to Him through so many choirs that she was a part of. She loved the vacations she had with the Cleveland Interfaith Choir as they planned trips all over the nation stopping in various churches and venues to perform praise concerts.
She was a singer who could earnestly cheer on other singers. She never had to be in the spotlight singing. Her servant attitude and her peacemaking ability kept her from having to have the solo part. She rejoiced in simply knowing the group had done a great job in lifting up the name of Jesus.
She enjoyed being on the praise team. It didn’t matter to her that she was in her 80’s. If she could make it to Praise Team Rehearsal she was going to make it and be present on Sunday morning to sing. All you had to do was to say Gloria could you sing with us, and her response was usually “as long as I can get a ride I’ll be there.” She eagerly served and worshipped with her voice.
She worshipped God with her giving. Gloria didn’t just talk tithing and giving 10%, she was faithful in doing it. If she missed an offering for any reason, she’d say, “I’m going to catch up on my giving and she did.” Whenever we had a capital campaign for a church project, she would be one of the first to make a pledge.
Sometimes I felt like saying Gloria, are you sure you want to pledge this much, but I kept my closed. I don’t know how she did it, but she did. When she got her last large sum of money, the first thing she did was tell me, here’s my ten percent, now this is above and beyond my regular giving.
She worshipped God with sacrifices of praise, time, talent, and money. Gloria was a true worshipper.
One day the Apostle, Paul wrote to Timothy about the faith that first dwelt in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. The faith that Gloria received from her grandmother, and her mother Helen and which resided in her is waiting to be passed on to the next generation. Three outstanding generations of women passing the faith from one generation to the next. Who will pick it up.
Robert Frost wrote a poem that involved coming to a fork in the road, and choosing the path that was less traveled by. In looking back, he realized that choosing that path made all the difference in the world. Choosing to live for Jesus Christ made all the difference in the world for Gloria Jean Jester.
Did you know that according to Jesus, most people will not go to heaven? Jesus said, Mat 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way to enter that narrow gate. All you have to do is to admit, "God, I have done a lot of things I should not have done. I realize I cannot pay for all that I have done. I ask you for forgiveness. I accept that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He being holy and righteous, paid the penalty for my sin. I invite him to come into my life and take control of it."
You will make numerous decisions in your life between your birth and your death. But the only decision that will still be personally affecting you a 1000 years from today, is what did you do with Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches there will certainly be a resurrection of everybody from the dead, and then comes the judgment of God.
Gloria jean Jester is prepared for that Judgment. Like the Apostle Paul she can say, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
For those of us who die without Jesus Christ, Gloria will only be a passing memory. She will be a good memory, but only a memory. For those of us who die in Christ, Elder Gloria Jean Jester is waiting for us to join her in that great reunion that will certainly take place.
For the word of God teaches, 1 Th 4:13-18 Brothers & Sisters, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
