From the moment I walked through the door of Warrenton Wesleyan Church 16 months ago I knew there was something special about Flora. I will admit that I pride myself in trying to learn and remember names, but for some reason, and I have never admitted this, I have the hardest time remembering older people’s names, especially elderly women. Because I confessed that doesn’t mean you are free to test me later. I shared this concern with another Pastor and he said, “it’s because after a certain time they all start to look alike.”
It was easy to laugh at his answer but the more I have thought about it the more I think it’s true. But it doesn’t become true when we are old. It is always true when we don’t know Christ as our Lord and Savior. When we live like the world. When we follow the ways of the world when we conform to the patterns of this world then we will all begin to look a like. Even people who claim to be Christians can become nothing more than a shell of what God intended for them to be. In reality there are a lot fewer people in this world who truly love the Lord with everything in them.
That is why I said a minute ago that as soon as I walked through the doors of Warrenton Wesleyan Church 16 months ago I knew there was something different about Flora Rutledge. The first time I met her she came right up to me and gave me a hug. Every Sunday morning I always looked for Flora. She was the sweetest lady who was always encouraging even if the sermon really wasn’t that good, she would say it was. She always told me about her family. How she loved them and was proud of them and always asked me to pray for them.
And we did. I want you to know, and I am sure you do, that your mother and grandmother was praying for you daily. Almost every Sunday when she came to the alter for prayer and I went over to pray with her, not once did she seek prayer for herself, she always wanted to pray for her children or grandchildren or people in the church. She was different because she wasn’t just a shell of what God wanted her to be she was what God intended her to be. She lived her life full of love, full of service, full of sacrifice. She was an example to all of us. Her name was easy to remember because even though she was soft spoken and quiet she stood out in a crowd to me. Her love for God made her infectious to be around.
And I know that if she were here with us now she would not want me to just talk about her, but she would want me to share with all of you what was truly on her heart. I want to read to you today from Romans 6:20-23.
20In those days, when you were slaves of sin, you weren’t concerned with doing what was right. 21And what was the result? It was not good, since now you are ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
This passage of scripture was Flora’s favorite passage and it was chosen by her to be read on the day of her funeral service. This scripture, planned for today, is the perfect example of describing Flora Rutledge. A woman who even when preparing for her own funeral was thinking of other people. Even though she has passed on from this life to a new one. Even though she is rejoicing with Christ in Heaven this very minute she is thinking of you because she chose this verse to be read to you on this day.
This scripture is significant because it is a very famous scripture. If you have ever learned the ABC’s of salvation or the Roman’s Road to salvation then you know that Romans 6:23 is usually the first scripture that is used. It is the first step in understanding and beginning your new life in Christ. The last verse of this passage reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.”
All of us are sinners. We are born into the world as sinners. This passage even says we are all slaves to sin. Before we know Christ we are slaves. Our freedom of speech, freedom to bear arms, freedom to marry whom we choose, freedom of religion, our freedom’s written on a piece of paper 200 years ago are all man’s laws. They are laws that are only good while we are in our physical bodies. God’s laws and God’s word always transcend man’s laws. God’s laws and His word are eternal. And no matter who we think we are or what we choose to believe God’s word says we are all sinners. We have all failed Him. And we are all condemned to an eternal punishment.
But the great news is that this passage starts out in the past tense. It says “When” you were slaves to sin. It shows that there is hope for a new life. A new birth in Christ. When we ask Jesus into our hearts, believe He is the son of God, that he died and rose again on the 3rd day and that he will return again God will free us of our sin. We no longer are slaves to this world and not just a creation of God but we are now a child of God. God shows us the right way to live. This passage says the things we used to do that didn’t bother us will now bother us. We will desire to live different from this world. We will desire to stand out in a different way. We will talk different, act different, think different. This verse says after we have asked Christ into our heart, “We will do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.”
If Flora were here with us today I believe she would want you to know that this life is only temporary. There is something greater beyond what we can see. She would want you to know that true life is found in Christ and Christ alone. I believe she wanted this passage read for a reason. This scripture shows us that although her life has ended it is not too late for you to begin your new life. It is not too late for you to give up being a slave to sin and give your life over to Christ. As I said earlier Flora was a woman that was always thinking of us over herself. Even at her funeral, she chooses a passage of scripture that shows us how to change our life from slaves to saved. From lost to found. She is not worried about who is preaching right now, or what kind of casket her body is buried in, but she wants to know that her family and friends know that she loves you and desires for you to know Christ in a real and personal way.
Talking to some of you that have known Flora for years I have been able to understand what kind of lady she really was. Many of you kept saying the same thing. You would all say she was just so special. You told me stories about how she was always willing to listen to you. That if you had a prayer need for your own children she would pray for them just as if your children were her own. You told me how she was an incredible hard worker. She wasn’t someone who liked to sit around. She wanted to be moving and doing something. In fact Norman Schloeman was telling me that the day before her death Flora was outside on her riding lawnmower mowing her lawn.
You told me how she was a great cook and you could always rely on her to bring a big dish of chili, or angel food cake or whatever else to a church dinner. And all of you that I talked to said she was a servant. That she loved the lord. She loved her family. She prayed for everyone. And she was faithful in every way. Flora was exactly what God intended her to be. Flora lived a life of obedience and love that we should all strive to live. Her light on this earth shone brightly. And she was an incredible example of what a Christian should look like.
I feel honored to have known her, even for a short time. She was a blessing to my life and to yours. She was as faithful as you could ask anyone to be.
I want to close with a scripture from John 14.
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."
5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
God has prepared a place for Flora. For 85 years she has been faithful to Him and he has called her home. How he calls us home or why he chooses to call us when we die is not for us to understand. What we must understand is that none of us know when our time will be. All we can do is be ready for when it happens. The greatest way to prepare today for death is to know that Christ lives in you. I hope that after hearing just a tiny bit about the faith of this woman that you will say to yourself, “How can I get what she had?” “How can I be different like Flora?”
All you have to do is ask Christ to come into your heart, ask Him to forgive you of your sins and God will come into your life to free you from slavery and someday you will be with Him in paradise just like this beautiful lady is today.
