ONE BY ONE

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Today I am thinking of death. I am working on a funeral message for a dear friend who lived to be 95. Two days ago I received news of a long time acquaintance in California who passed away at age 48. I have death on my mind. Hebrews says, “It’s appointed unto man, once to die.” I have lived long enough to see it happen many times.

My mother and father are gone. I had four brothers and two sisters. They all have passed away. On a regular basis I receive word of a high school or college classmate who has died. Word comes on a regular basis of relatives, friends, neighbors who die. The headlines of the newspapers tell of those dieing in war. Death is real.

There are days when I feel very lonely. There are times when I struggle with the fact that some of these people are actually gone. But they are gone and they are not coming back to this life. This is tough—real tough. But if you are a Christian it will be alright. We do not live without hope. Our hope is in God. God is faithful. And in those lonely days I lean on him. I feel his presence. Our God is a God of comfort. If you don’t know him, make it a point to get acquainted—and soon. You will always be glad you did.