The Only Door

The past few weeks have been filled with difficulties. My step-mother passed away on July 16th after a very long battle with cancer. I was able to say good-bye and tried to be a help to my father in his time of grief. I was ever impressed by my step-mother's faithfulness to God through her ordeal. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with her in the hospital a couple of months ago and was amazed and encouraged by her ability to praise God for the blessings in her life and continue to pray for others.

After attending a funeral and a grave-side service, I thought I had heard every aspect of grace and mercy. The grace that God has granted us through the death of His Son - Jesus. The mercy that we are afforded when Jesus became sin for us and was crucified. However, I needed one more lesson. As I attended church Sunday morning, glad to be home, I was confronted with a sermon on this very topic. I could not believe that I was going to sit through this information for a third time, but I did - and I was glad.

Death is always been something that I have feared. No matter how you slice it, death has always scared me. I have always looked at it in as final, ending, changing, and down right scary. I never took the time to realize that it is necessary for me to see Jesus. Summarizing from 2 Corinthians 5:8 - We prefer to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. During the sermon on Sunday, Howie said, "One out of every one person will die." I laughed at that, but realized the profoundness in its truth. Everyone is going to die sometime. If they are a follower of Jesus, then this will lead them to and eternal life in the presence of God. If they are not, however, this will lead them to an eternal life of suffering in Hell. It is very black and white. There are no short cuts to the Heaven. No amount of good works or good deeds will get you there if you are not a follower and believer of Jesus. And there is only one way to get there - death.

My dad explained this very eloquently right before the funeral service. I was proud of him as he took time out of his grief to remind everyone in the room that his wife was at peace. She was faithful to God and had a relationship with Him. It was important to her. Therefore, at the moment she left us here, she awakened in the presence of Jesus. She is in a place that we cannot even wrap our minds around. She has been made whole and is no longer suffering. That is where we all should want to be someday. I feel less scared of death now. I can even appreciate the door it will open.

Thank you God for the lessons You have taught me in the past couple of weeks. I am thankful of the grace and mercy that is available for all sinners and granted to those who call you Lord. I ask that You give peace and comfort to my father in this very hard time. He knows and loves You, and for this I am thankful. I pray for those who do not call you Lord. I ask that their hearts and minds be open so they too can experience all that You are and all that You have for them. I love You and it is in Jesus name that I pray. Amen.