Inscriptions

None of us is getting out of here alive!  Death is imminent, and it is considered by most morbid to discuss.  And I get it!  Life is precious and we cling tenaciously to every breath.  Who in their normal mind sits around talking about death?  Right?  If you do, we need to talk!

As a hospice chaplain, I often officiate graveside services.  Cemeteries are not my favorite hang-out place, but while there I like to read inscriptions on tombstones.  Most include only the name, along with birth and death dates.  However, some across the years have left their humorous side behind:

“She always said her feet were killing her but nobody believed her”

“Barry M. Deep”

“Another one bites the dust”

“Here lies an atheist.  All dressed up and no place to go”

“Na na na na

Na na na na

Hey hey -ey

Goodbye”

”Here lies Lester Moore.  Four slugs from a 44.  No Les  No more”

“Jesus called and Kim answered”

“Don’t laugh, you’re next”

MERV GRIFFIN:  “I will not be back after this message”

“I told you I was sick”

MEL BLANC:  “That’s All Folks!”

“Here lies John Yeast.  Pardon me for not rising”

BUTTERMILK HATFIELD:  “Tried milkin’ a cow that was really a bull.  Milk can’s empty, grave is full”

“Here lies SHAWN O’TOOLE.  Kicked in the head by an ornery bull”

“Ben Better” (1837-1862)

Of course, death is not funny, but followers of Jesus Christ view death from a positive perspective.  We believe what we preach!  “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).  Our “temple” is subject to age and decay, but the “eternal us” will live forever SOMEWHERE!  Those who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and who subsequently walk with Him will one day meet Him face to face.  How will you respond when you see him?  

In 2001, Christian band MercyMe released, “I Can Only Imagine,” the lyrics for which lead singer Bart Millard wrote in just ten minutes.  In part he wrote:

“Surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for You, Jesus, 

Or in awe of You be still?

Will I stand in Your presence, 

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah,

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine.”

I, of course, don’t know for sure, but I’m thinking that I personally will cry my eyes out when I see Jesus for the first time.  I met Him almost 50 years ago, and I still cry when His presence floods my heart!  He’s wonderful!    

I still marvel at the story of Enoch found in Genesis 5:24. It succinctly says, “For Enoch was not, for God took him.”  I used to teach high school English and if a student had turned in this sentence, I would have red marked it and said, “Incomplete thought. Enoch was not WHAT?”  

I then look to the New Testament to answer this question!   In John 17:15 Jesus says, “As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.”  There you go!

Enoch was not of this world, for God took him!  Like you and me, Enoch lived IN the world, but was never part OF it!  I like to think about it this way:  One evening Enoch was walking along the road when God said, “Enoch, you’re closer to my house, why don’t you just come on over?”  This world is not our final destination.  We are pilgrims just passing through, “looking for a city...whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). 

Years ago, I heard Johnny Cash kiddingly say, “All of us want to go to heaven some day, but nobody wants to get up a bus load today!”  How true!  But in the event we are called “home,” believers in Jesus Christ need not fear what’s coming.  Jesus is the hope of earth and the joy of heaven.

Oh, come to Him this very day!  Heaven is by appointment only, and awaits the moment when it’s your time to change locations!  

Who's to Blame?

Job is perhaps the Bible’s premiere example of suffering.  His story provides partial revelation to the age-old question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Following his loss of income, transportation, ten children, health, and presumably his wife’s affections, Job summarizes his catastrophic situation by saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21b).  Job momentarily contributed his losses to God’s dealings in his life. 

I personally believe this was Job’s grief talking.  It was not totally accurate, but it was his truth in that moment.  In the very next verse it says, “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.”  In other words, it appears that Job came to a righteous resolve and grieved appropriately.  It appears he shifted the blame for his traumatic circumstances away from God. 

As I write, fires in California continue to incinerate thousands of acres and many homes have been destroyed.  Mandatory evacuations have displaced entire communities.  Meanwhile, on the East coast storms have wreaked havoc with fallen trees and broken power lines causing widespread power outages.

Throughout 2019 our beloved Texas has endured record-breaking floods.  Hundreds have been displaced because of high water.  At times, nature is a fierce contender.

The insurance industry refers to such events as “acts of God.”  However, we may need to re-think this position.  Sadly, God gets blamed for what the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) initiates.  The real blame needs to be placed on “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).  Little “g.”

I meet people on a regular basis who ask me, “Why did God do this?  Is He mad at me?”  It doesn’t help when obscure radio preachers say things like, “God is judging California and Texas for their many sins.”  In other words, according to their misguided teaching, God is signaling out California and Texas and making examples out of them.

NO WAY!  God, in His righteous judgment does not “pick and choose.”  God does not put sin on a continuum, or grade on a curve.  He does not say, “Ohio is better than the other two states.”  Ridiculous!  If what’s happened in California and Texas is God’s judgment, then, God is a cruel judge.  And we know that God loves all people equally.  Let’s put the blame for natural disasters, tragedies and human loss where it belongs:  The devil.  He is the arch enemy of God and hates His creation, many times using natural calamities to attack what he hates and to discourage God’s people, hopefully causing them to doubt God’s love.

Yes, God hates sin; and yes, people make decisions that go against God’s righteous plans, bringing pain and heartache into their lives.  But God comes alongside all of us during times of crisis to bring comfort and provision; and even reversing situations – like he did for Job.

My friend Paula inspires me.  She has a good handle on tragedy and where the real blame lies.  Paula has suffered the loss of her husband after 50-plus years of marriage, the deaths of two sons, and the death of a granddaughter.  Her 21-year-old son died in a car accident.  Her 50-year-old son died from complications of diabetes.  And her 18-year-old granddaughter died of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).   Three of Paula’s five sons were deaf from birth.  Yet, this woman carries no bitterness toward God.

As a child Paula was told constantly by her father, “I hate you.”  Regular beatings were given to punish her for not being a boy.  She grew up feeling unloved and unwanted.  Yet, in her father’s dying days she cared for him.  Forgiveness flowed between the two of them. 

“My loved ones are better off in a better place,” she said.  “God knows best.”  I fought back tears as Paula told her story.  She is no stranger to suffering and loss, as she too suffers from the ravages of MS.  She displays a faith-filled smile.  She affirms that earth has no pain that heaven cannot heal. 

My friend, let’s put the blame where it belongs – the enemy of our soul. His job description is clearly stated: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John10:10). 

Discouraged ones let’s not blame God when life brings us difficult days.   Instead let’s worship Him even when we don’t understand.  Worship is the antidote to hard times and overwhelming circumstances.  Like Job of Old Testament fame, let’s affirm, “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth” (Job 19:25).

Finally, I love what Charles Hadden Spurgeon wrote many years ago: “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”

Jesus Wept

You probably know that John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible. It packs a punch!  John writes two words that echo across the years – from the Garden of Eden to the tomb of Lazarus, to the end of this age:  “Jesus wept.”

This powerful verse describes what Jesus Christ did during an emotionally charged event – a funeral.  What makes this so unusual?  After all, people often cry at funerals.  Yes, but on this occasion we see God crying at a funeral.  Many suggest He cried because His good friend Lazarus had died.  And that may be partly true; however, I believe He cried for reasons that go much deeper.

First of all, Jesus Christ did not simply cry – He wailed.  His eyes were more than moist.  An emotional dam broke deep within the Master, as tears cascaded down His face and a loud moan overrode the already high-pitched sounds of paid mourners. 

Surely, our Savior’s thoughts traveled back in time to the Garden of Eden.  He recalled the very moment when Adam and Eve disobeyed God   He watched as human perfection was overturned by sin, then, sickness and ultimately death. He saw the ugliness of sin played out on the stage of human history.  He stood alongside Lazarus’ two grief-stricken sisters outside the tomb, now four days occupied; and He wept! 

Perhaps He thought, “This was never meant to be.  This was never the Father’s plan.  It did not have to be this way.”  Then, with righteous anger, the Lord commanded the rock to be moved; and in a voice that blasted Satanic strongholds, said, “Lazarus, come forth!” 

Immediately, resurrection life flowed through a wrapped corpse long affected by rigor mortis and Lazarus walked out!  I personally believe that had Jesus Christ not specifically said “Lazarus,” multitudes that died in faith since Adam’s time would have risen as well! 

Several days later, Jesus would go to Jerusalem, endure six trials – three of them mock and illegal; be savagely beaten, hung on a cruel cross and die.  Three days later, the “Resurrection and life” would rise from the dead, defeating death and hell.  Death died that day!  What happened outside of Lazarus’ tomb was a precursor to the hope that’s ours who have placed our faith and trust in Jesus’ saving grace.

The risen Son of God still weeps at funerals, but now He weeps over those who reject His finished work on the cross and who forfeit resurrection power that makes possible eternal life with Christ.  Don’t reject the resurrected Christ!

Shadows

I couldn’t help but laugh at a clever cartoon, which depicted a very nervous chicken walking in front of a Kentucky Fried Restaurant.  The caption read, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

Psalm 23:4 captures my attention every time I read this beloved Psalm.  As a hospice chaplain, I quote this verse often when dealing with those close to death.  

Shadows have always intrigued me.  When the electricity went out, my siblings and I created shadow animals in the glow of candlelight.  My brothers and I would also shadowbox.  No matter how hard I punched my shadow, I never knocked him out! 

While walking home toward dusk, large maple trees cast shadows on the road and I imagined them to be aliens from another world.  My feet could not get me home fast enough!

And perhaps you remember the late 1960’s afternoon television soap entitled “Dark Shadows, which featured a vampire named Barnabas Collins.  The Collins family lived in Collinsport, Maine, and the show depicted the lives, loves and tribulations of this family, which dabbled in supernatural phenomenon.  This scary, neck-biting drama aired every weekday right after we got home from school.  The name depicted the dark shadows of life in Collinsport.

Did you ever lie in a dark bedroom, convinced that the boogeyman was standing by the closet door?  Minimal light from a full moon cast a shadow and made a coat hanging on the edge of the door appear to be a “monster.” Such fear was intense.  Thank God, as long as my head was buried under the blanket, I was protected from this shadowy illusion!

Ashtabula County is home for 19 covered bridges.  These historic reminders of travel in simpler days feature hand-hewed lumber.  My wife and I enjoy the unique design of each one.  (Just a side note:  Jefferson, Ohio is host to the Annual Covered Bridge Festival in October, which draws people from across the nation.)

Not long ago, we took an afternoon drive on a beautiful sunny Sunday.  My eyes had, of course, acclimated to the bright sun when I entered a particular favorite bridge.  Suddenly, everything went dark and my eyesight was compromised.  I slowed down, unable to see my way.  Then, just as quick, we drove back out into the sunlight. 

At that moment Psalm 23:4 took on new meaning.  Driving through a covered bridge provided a sermon illustration!  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

Death is a shadow.  It cannot harm the believer in Christ.  When the entrance to that covered bridge yielded darkness, shadows unnerved us until our eyes refocused in the sunlight.  Likewise, the shadow of death cannot hurt us.  Temporary darkness gives way to permanent light – for all eternity!  The light is Jesus!  He will guide us safely over, past the shadow of death, into eternal light! 

During a sunny day in Ashtabula County, plan a covered bridge itinerary and experience for yourself the truth of Psalm 23:4.  Each bridge will provide a wonderful illustration of this principle.

And how wonderful to know when our time comes, the Lord will be with us!  He will guide us beyond the shadow of death into His glorious presence!