John 14:1-6
1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
4 "And you know the way where I am going." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me
Glen Uren Funeral Sermon
We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Glen Uren. I want more than anything to comfort you in your grief. I want to encourage you that the Lord is ever so near in your time of tears, pain, and grief. I would like to share one simple phrase with you today, just four words, that I hope will stay with you always when you think about Glen.
KEY PHRASE: He is in Heaven; this I know.
You can tell a lot about a person by the philosophies he lives by. Glen picked the scriptures he wanted read at his funeral and, in reading these verses, we can tell that Glen was a man of great faith in the Lord and great longing for the new life that Jesus has promised in His Father’s House.
Having never met Glen until several months ago while he was in BV Hospital, I cannot help but feel that here was a man who lived his faith. I would love to have a hundred like him setting in the pews on Sunday morning. Talk about preaching to the choir! Over the past several months I was privileged to read over some of Glen’s memoirs, penned in his own hand. Glen gives a very moving account of growing up and living during the great depression. The hardships of farm life during the 30’s brought back memories of the great American novel, the “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. The trials that people endured just to provide for their families were beyond comprehension for those of us who never experienced it. But hardships, when endured with the faith and courage Glen had, can build character and an optimism to face the future. Glen faced the obstacles in his life, not with anger or shaking his fist at the Lord and saying, “why me” but with a full knowledge that the Lord would protect and watch over him and Glen was not disappointed. Glen knew he was going to heaven and lately he longed for the peace and rest it would bring. Just knowing this in his heart made Glen content. Glen knew that Jesus was waiting and had a room prepared especially for him. As we learned in the reading from John, Jesus promises us that He has gone ahead of us and is preparing a place for us in Heaven. This is not just any place, but Jesus says we have a place in God’s house in Heaven. What a wonderful thought. When we leave this life, we get to live with God in a place prepared especially by Jesus, tailor-made for us. The benefits of Heaven are really far beyond our ability to comprehend. Still living here on Earth, we can’t really understand what Heaven is like. Scripture tells us it is a place where there is no more hunger or thirst or pain and that God renews us everyday. It is a place of contentment. It is a place of love. It is a place with God. And we will be there one day to see Glen again.
Glen was a friend to many. One of his favorite sayings came from the old cowboy philosopher himself, Will Rogers, who said, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” This was a favorite saying of Glen’s and he meant every word of it. I would propose that we add the phrase, “… and I never met a man who didn’t like Glen Uren”. Glen had such a being about him that you just couldn’t help but love him and respect him. I believe it was his love of God that showed forth in his life that made him the man he was. You have no doubt heard about “men of letters”, those who have degrees, which permit them to place letters after their name such as BA, MA, PhD, MD, JD, LLC, etc. Glen never earned a PhD but he was also a man of letters, literally. He wrote thousands of letters and penned countless pages in his diaries. His written words have left a priceless, precious legacy to his family and friends.
As Glen leaves the earthly church to become part of the church triumphant, we share a heavy burden. God will not make us carry it alone. He gives us strength to help one another, and we will not let each other down. We share this moment of pain with those who mourn and know that grief shared is half grief.
We do not say "Good-bye to Glen" but only "see you later". By God’s power we will see Glen later. Let that truth be healing for you today as we commend a husband, father, grandfather and friend to the care of the saints. Let the mighty engines within be quiet. Listen to the multitude about you. Now it is morning for Glen. Let him go and be a part of the company of heaven, a creature of the light and not of the dark. Glen is now a part of the company which says to each one of us, "Let not your heart be troubled.".
Glen longed to see the Lord and he longed for heaven. He is there and he is His as never before. He is rejoicing. He is well. He is healthy. He is strong. He is happy. God has promised.
ILL.- No Disappointment in Heaven
There’s no disappointment in heaven,
No weariness, sorrow or pain;
No hearts that are bleeding and broken,
No song with a minor refrain.
The clouds of our earthly horizon
Will never appear in the sky,
For all will be sunshine and gladness,
With never a sob nor a sigh.
We’ll never pay rent for our mansion,
The taxes will never come due;
Our garments will never grow threadbare,
But always be fadeless and new.
We’ll never be hungry or thirsty,
Nor languish in poverty there,
For all the rich bounties of heaven
His sanctified children will share.
There’ll never be crepe on the doorknob,
No funeral train in the sky;
No graves on the hillside of Glory,
For there we shall never more die.
The old will be young there forever,
Transformed in a moment of time;
Immortal we’ll stand in His likeness,
The stars and the sun to outshine.
I’m bound for that beautiful city
My Lord has prepared for His own;
Where all the redeemed of all ages
Sing “Glory!” around the white throne.
Sometimes I grow homesick for heaven,
And the glories I there shall behold:
What a joy that will be when my Savior I see,
In that beautiful city of gold!
~ F. M. Lehman
“I never met a man I didn’t like.” (Will Rogers)
“A good wife and health are a man’s best wealth”.
