Entering a local funeral home to attend a memorial service held for an OLD brother who was with the Lord last Saturday, I saw a large crowd of people in the room with some familiar faces. Apparently, the OLD brother’s legacy extends deeply within the community. The service was conducted under a sober and saddened atmosphere. A powerful message titled “Jesus is the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Him will live, even though they die (John 11:25)” was delivered to the attendees. It emphasizes the fact that eternal life, which is a gift from God, can only be received through God’s son, Jesus Christ.
Apart from the key message, there were also several reflections shared during the service. They serve the purpose of reflecting the OLD brother’s life in this world – a person of frankness, with love and of principle; and most importantly, a man of faith. The OLD brother’s children indicated repeatedly the strong faith that their father had in Christ during their reflections. It is quite an encouraging story.
This reminds me of what has been written on the tombstone of Ruth Graham, the evangelist Billy Graham’s wife who died in 2007. On the top of her tombstone, it has a Chinese character 義 (Righteousness) and on its bottom it engraves, “End of construction, Thank you for your patience”. What a meaningful concluding remark for a Christian’s life! If we ponder upon the remark a little bit, we would remember that a Christian’s life starts when he / she is justified by faith. It means we become a Christian the day when we clothe the righteousness of Jesus Christ through receiving Him into our hearts. After that, we are always “under construction” throughout our entire life span in this world. So, an immediate question is what kind of materials we have been using in our construction – worldly wealth, fame, etc. or God’s words? Apostle Paul warned us that “If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 若有人用金、銀、寶石、草木、禾楷、在這根基上建造．各人的工程必然顯露．因為那日子要將他表明出來、有火發現．這火要試驗各人的工程怎樣。(1 Corinthians 3:12-13)” He tells us that what we used to construct our Christian life will certainly have a very different result when we meet our Lord face to face. Question is what does God want us to do?
Apostle Paul taught the brothers and sisters in Rome that we are predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29). Therefore, my brothers and sisters, it is God’s will that we strive toward become Christ likeness and this can only be done if we set apart our life from this world to live a true witness of Him. I sincerely hope that on our “end of construction” day, we can all receive praise from our Lord saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant! 好、你這又良善又忠心的僕人”
———————————————————————————————————-
Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.