A Letter To You

To any and all who would lend me your ear and your heart, I beg you to consider the following story and plea from my heart.

A few months back a member of our church family passed away. As her pastor I had the great honor of speaking at her funeral service and sharing encouragement with her family members and friends. Although her death was sudden and unexpected, and although it brought much sorrow to her loved ones, it was truly a celebration of her life and her reception in heaven with Jesus.

This past week, one of her sons was laid in the same position, in the same room, with much of the same people looking in the same direction, in the same manner, with much of the same tears flowing down their cheeks. Although I had met this gentlemen only one time, I was asked to speak at his funeral service.

There was something much different about this gentleman's funeral service than there was of his mother's just months earlier. This gentleman never professed a faith in Jesus Christ, his family members and his friends did not know where he stood with his maker, no one was able to offer a testimony on his behalf, and no one stood secure on where his soul would spend eternity.

As the funeral service continued, as it concluded, and as the casket was placed over it's final resting place, the uncertainty grew, as did the sorrow, the heartbreak, and the grief. This day we were able to honor his life, we were able to remember the memories made with this man, we were able to reflect on the impact that he has made in the lives of others, yet we were not able to celebrate , and we were not able to rest assured.

Now, I believe that God offers comfort, encouragement, and support in our time of need, I believe that God will strengthen this family in the same way. But, as a sister stood at her brother's casket for more than ten minutes repeating; "I will see you again, you are in heaven now".

"I will see you again, you are in heaven now!"
"I will see you again, you are in heaven now!"
"I will see you again, you are in heaven now!"
"I will see you again, you are in heaven now!"

For ten minutes she continued, over and over she cried, over and over she wailed, over and over she shouted; "I will see you again, you are in heaven now!" This poor woman tried her best to convince herself, tried her best to convince those around her, tried her best to convince God, that her brother was going to make it into heaven. How troubling it must be to see the cold body of a loved one and know that it might be too late.

As I stood beside the casket that day, I could only hope that the second half of that statement was true, hope that he had made a commitment before his life was taken from him, hope that he called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ before his last breath passed from his body. I could only hope, because it was too late for prayers.

And, as I stood beside the casket that day, I could not help but see the faces and think of the names of the individuals close to me that have not yet made a commitment to Jesus. Prayers were offered for you that day - prayers that you will come to know Jesus Christ, prayers that you will come to accept Jesus Christ, prayers that you will come to experience Jesus Christ - because without Him you are lost.

Salvation gained a whole new meaning that day!

So, as I conclude this letter to you, I must ask: "have you accepted Jesus". I don't care how inconvenient it is for you to make it to church, I don't care how boring you find a preacher's sermon, I don't care how many excuses you have for staying away from church people. Simply this, I care about you and I want to make sure that I can celebrate with you some day. Maybe I won't be around to celebrate your life at your funeral service, but I will be around to celebrate your life for all of eternity.

I love you and I want the best for you.