Because He Lives...

We sang one of my all-time favorite songs in church this morning.

God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,

And feel the pride and joy He gives;

But greater still the calm assurance

This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

But the third verse spoke to me more than any other this morning.

And then one day I'll cross that river;

I'll fight life's final war with pain;

And then as death gives way to vict'ry,

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow;

Because He lives all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives!

My mother's oldest living sister died this week. She had battled and defeated cancer once before, but it returned. All of her recent tests, though, showed it was gone again, but she got weaker and weaker. She developed pneumonia and though a week ago Saturday, everything looked better, by Tuesday, her doctor had to acknowledge that He didn't understand why, but she was in the process of dying. And so began the bittersweet vigil that lasted some 37 hours.

A fellow chorister at church recently lost his dad also, and as he put it, "You may see us mourn, but you won't see us despair." That's the assurance that our loved ones are indeed in heaven. This is a certainty we have only because they and we have accepted the gift of forgiveness offered by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have each acknowledged that though by the world's standards, we may be "good" people, we are in truth, no different from any murderer or rapist or abuser or any other sinner. We have all sinned and that sin destines us to hell. Hell is a very real place and I don't care to go there. But God sent His Son, who lived a perfect life here on earth for 33 years and then went to His human death on the cross as a sacrifice for each and every one of us. The miracle is that He did this for me even though He knew I would come along and sin. And then He rose again from the dead. He lives! And because of that, I will also live in heaven with Him when I die my earthly death. We believe my aunt got a glimpse of heaven last Friday. And even though her body sought some improvement, she knew what lay ahead and she was ready to go. She said as much to her family.

So once again, we rejoice at the homegoing of a loved one. If you don't have that assurance about a future free of fear, there are many of us who would love to help you have it. God bless you this week, and be safe