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| Image created by Akiane |
John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Over the past few weeks my family has lost several loved ones. One in particular really made me stop and do a serious inventory of my life, those dear to me and the state of our affairs. It's always hard to process death, unanswered questions, unspoken words, things you wish you should have said or done, the plans left unfulfilled and the pain that shreds your heart. We are not promised tomorrow, or even the next moment...
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14
Often times we take for granted the people we love the most and the time we have with them. God never promised that this life would be long, that we would live forever here on earth or that we would never experience loss. Job 14:1 tells us that this life is short and full of trouble. What we tend to forget is that our lives are not our own, 1 Cor. 6:19-20. Our time here on Earth is to fulfill a part of God's plan for eternity. Wrapped up in this time is family, friends, loved ones, and all matters of relationships. The bonds we form are not usually broken by death and even when one passes from here to there, their memory still has a special place in our life. People like to say that time heals all wounds but some things time can never fix, only God can heal. No matter what our lives hold, it's comforting to know that the dead in Christ have eternal life. Beyond the confines of space, time, flesh and this earthly realm, there is a home waiting for each of us who choose to live in Christ.
2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The one day we spend mourning the loss of a loved one is as a thousand years with Jesus for them. That's an awesome thought. When I pass from this life to my place in eternity, my prayer is that I have fulfilled every purpose God placed in me, birthed everything God impregnated me with, infected every person I encounter with the love of Christ and have touched every life that was assigned to me. May the works that I've done and the life that I lived be an unspoken witness for God and a true testament to His love for His beautiful creation.
If you find yourself missing a loved one, pause and remember the wonderful things they've poured into your life, when they made you laugh or smile, the tears they've wiped away, the role they played in shaping who you are today and the time you were blessed to share with them. Celebrate the life and cherish the memories!
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