The Many Faces of Hope

 

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless.  Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.  “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.  He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.  Psalm 107:4-7

This Psalm celebrates Israel’s history, of course.  But it is also a story told and retold throughout the generations of humanity; it is the story of distress and deliverance, rags to riches, dungeon to throne, love-lost to reunion, blindness to sight, crippled to leaping, and in a thousand other themes.  This is God’s story of the bleak impossible turned real, the ageless, magnificent story of hope and salvation.

Monday of this week the ultimate working-out of this story made its way into my line of sight…again.  We buried a church member.  Linda was not pretentious or mean-spirited.  She wasn’t over-demanding or unduly-proud (other than her love of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team!).  She was just Linda, mother, grand & great grandmother.  She loved her family and football!

It is humbling to stand before any congregation with the awesome charge to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ…but particularly so when the charge for the preacher is to say a word of comfort to a grieving family.  The words are in the church’s worship book, about why we gather, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.  Sometimes that comfort, hope, and resurrection come in just gathering, or the preacher’s words, or a child’s reciting a memory verse.  Monday, for me, it came in the son-in-law’s song.  With a resounding baritone, Rick sang Celebrate Me Home.  The words are particularly filled with faith in God which overcome pain and sorrow.  It was almost impossible to get off my chair and continue.  Here are the words he sang:

When the time comes and I am standing at the river

That separates the two worlds that I love

Torn between my precious friends and my family

And the place of peace that's waiting up above

Hold my hand and stay there by my side, And when I finally step into the tide

Celebrate me home!  Celebrate me there

Celebrate me in that land of wonder where nothing can compare

Celebrate me in that place Celebrate me saved by grace

Don't just sit and weep because I'm gone…Celebrate me Home

I have spent most of my life on earth preparing

To take the trip from here to Heaven's throne

With the Shield and Word of God to guide me 

Its a comfort knowing I am not alone

So when I take my final fleeting breath  And fade into the gentle sleep of death

Celebrate me home!  Celebrate me there

Celebrate me in that land of wonder where nothing can compare

Celebrate me in that place  Celebrate me saved by grace

Don't just sit and weep because I'm gone  Celebrate me Home

No more broken dreams  No more tears to cry  Into my Father's arms I'll fly  Celebrate me home!  Celebrate me there

Celebrate me in that land of wonder where nothing can compare

Celebrate me in that place  Celebrate me saved by grace

Don't just sit and weep because I'm gone  Celebrate me Home![1]

This is more than just a tear-jerker, designed to create a momentary flood of emotion.  This is a Christ-centered statement of faith, and the fondest prayer I know for the ones I love.  It bridges the divide between longing for Heaven, and the connection of here.

For You Today

If you’ve lost someone, and you’ve run out of ways to stop hurting, take a few minutes to re-read the words of this song.  Listen to it sung.[2]  Discuss these words with another friend, or your pastor.  This is why God gave us The Church…so we can move beyond grieving as those who have no hope.  ^{1 Thessalonians 4:13} 

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com    Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

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[1] Celebrate Me Home, Joel Lindsey, Wayne Haun, performed by The Perrys, 2012, (Songlyrics.com)

[2] Go here to listen to The Perrys’ version on YouTube.com

Grace That Leads to Joy - Part 1

[1]

Monday, May 30, 2016

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  Philippians 4:23^(NLT)

This week we are going to investigate the joy Paul described to the Philippian church, the kind of joy that only the grace of God can bring.  All throughout this letter to the Philippian church Paul's theme has been joy. 

Indeed, rejoicing was his life. 

But sometimes tragedy will test even the strongest faith.

A number of years ago I stood with Ricky’s family, a 22 year-old boy, who had been killed in a freak accident, when another vehicle locked bumpers trying to pass him.  It flipped Ricky’s car off the road and he died instantly. 

Looking into the casket; it was hard to imagine joy. 

His mother and Dad shared with me their son's great plans for the future:  Master's degree, advancement, family, and his love for the Lord; it was an incredible tragedy how his life had been snuffed out. 

His parents told me how Ricky worked hard every day, never late; how he went to school nights, and how hard he studied.  It was hard to conjure-up joy amidst all the stock phrases people nervously utter at such times; words won't do! 

There was lots of hugging and remembering at the funeral home.  But I knew that would pass.  In the morning there would be a funeral service, and soon we would be at the cemetery, ready to lower a young man into a grave, when he hadn't even begun to live. 

Joy was AWOL! 

And so I asked the Lord to speak to my heart, so I could speak to this broken-hearted family.  Often I'm a poor listener, so the Lord waited until I walked out on the platform for the service.  It was the faces of the young people; most of whom I'd never seen before.  The faces were streaming with tears, disbelief and stunned silence.  The faces were grieving as those with no hope. 

The Lord then spoke to my heart and the one-sided conversation went thus:

            Russell, among those young people are those who have left me out.

A few have never even heard the gospel. 

Tell them I love them.

What a privilege!  I not only rediscovered joy – I was downright happy!  This gave meaning to Ricky's death.  His friends were sitting there, wishing for some kind of meaning – any kind of sense in the madness and chaos of losing their friend.  They were facing the reality that if it could happen to Ricky, so young, strong, bright and alive – well it could happen to anyone! 

And their attention was focused toward the pulpit, God's sacred desk.  It was the grace of God that spoke to my heart telling me to tell them; it was the grace of God that covered that building with joy that day in the face of tragedy.

Awesome responsibility...Incredible joy!

For You Today

Have you ever felt joy in the midst of a terrible loss?  In this same letter to the church, Paul called it the peace that passes understanding; you can’t possibly explain it, but you sure know it’s there!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: By Meghana Kulkarni from Pune, India (Happiness), via Wikimedia Commons