Left Behind
There is no gathering that tugs at our heartstrings the way that a funeral service does. Something about being left behind stirs our emotions and brings a profound sense of loneliness to our hearts. In the twinkling of an eye, a loved one passes from life to death. From the temporal to the eternal. Leaving behind family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. Left behind, indeed.
On the one hand, you reminisce about the good times you enjoyed with _____ - the experiences you had, the laughter you shared, the days you thought would never end. On the other hand, you wonder why something like this has happened. _____ is gone and you are left behind - and it hurts.
I am not here today to answer all the questions that you may have about death or life. I don’t know that anyone could do that. But what I would like to do is tell you a couple things that the Bible says about death: The first is found in Romans 8:38-39 it says:
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
From this passage of scripture, I can tell you that a relationship with Jesus can weather any storm. If a person trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior, nothing - nothing can separate us from the love of God. This relationship, is not dependent on our strength, our ability, our craftiness, our worthiness, our health or any other attribute we think we can offer. It is based only on ones relationship with Jesus.
I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know whether _____ had a relationship with Jesus. That is not for me to judge because that is a condition of a persons heart and I do not have the ability to see into a persons heart. But I do now that if _____ had a relationship with Jesus he/she is safe in God’s love right now. Isn’t that what the scripture just said, “I am persuaded that neither nor life, ... shall be able to separate us from the love of God.
How do we get a right relationship with Jesus? The answer is also found in Romans 10:9, it says:
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”
There is no argument. There is no debate. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Romans 10:13 goes on to say:
“Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This is the hope that we have. This is the assurance that we have. God will remain true to His word. We must be obedient and do our part.
Let us pray.
