Remembering A Friend
By: Ian McKerracher
1Thessalonians 4:13(NIV) Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
The duration of our lives is a single frame taken from an eternal video. In that single frame, I came to know a fellow named Kevin. He passed away recently, this infernal Covid being the cause and his passing contrary to the wishes and prayers of many. Kevin was, on the outside, a rough uncut stone. He was born with spina bifida and, I understand, struggled through several surgeries early on in his life. Ultimately, he walked with two canes on his arms because of one leg that was shrivelled and useless. He certainly didn’t let that slow him down. When I met him, it was at the time he got saved and joined the church I attend. When he came to the church, he fell in love with Jesus and the people of God and got involved immediately with the sound crew for the church services. For the last 20 years or so, that was where you could find him, in the sound booth, doing the risky and thankless job of turning knobs and balancing systems. (or whatever magic it is that a sound crew actually does)
“ The duration of our lives is a single frame taken from an eternal video. ”
He also joined the bible study that my wife and I run. He met the woman who became his wife in Church and they both came to the mid-week meeting for many years, much to the celebration of the friends that met there. This precious couple even were present when we organized the Great Outdoors Camping Experience on a weekend in the summers of several years running, always enjoying the fellowship of good people, singing around a campfire. Kevin almost took his thumb off, one year, as he tried his hand at chopping some wood for the fire, wanting to serve the rest of us.
The passing of a person from here to Eternity is a solemn affair. Most cultures have ceremonial ways to bring the much-needed closure for those left behind. If you have ever heard Atheists speak on this topic, it is usually with their tongue planted firmly in their cheek. They like to point out that, in their opinion, the hope of the resurrection is some self-imposed delusion because we are not mature enough to face our mortality without our “magic man in the sky”. They seem to believe, with the insistences of Christians notwithstanding, that getting to Heaven instead of Hell is the singular purpose of this delusion called Religion and the fear that is generated by the dichotomy is the driving force behind it all. In their mind, the existence of Hell is a source of power that Church leaders have over the congregations under their control. They refuse to look at death as the small part that it is in the larger picture. Their boasting is empty of reality and the last recorded words of famous atheists on their death bed testify against them if you care to look it up. (https://www.christian-faith.com/quotes-of-dying-atheists-and-god-haters/) They miss so much of the dignity and celebration of the death of a saint.
“It is a cause for celebration when a Saint passes from this life to the next. ”
The death of a saint is so much more than the death of a saint. The scripture even says that it is precious in the eyes of God. It is a cause for celebration when a Saint passes from this life to the next. The thing that I celebrate about Kevin’s life, first of all, is that he is a friend of mine who I will meet again on the other side. Why is that important? Well, if you are going to celebrate someone’s life, it is important to celebrate what made that life and, for Kevin, what made his life was his Christian worldview. If he was just a collection of lucky molecules that somehow came to life, what could he have for purpose or meaning to that life? But because he lived his Christian Worldview, he was given meaning and purpose by the One who created him, the One who made him FOR something. Out of his Christian Worldview came his marriage to Paula, his volunteering and service, his fellowship, (thanks for good camping memories) and his worship. We live at the intersection of Heaven and Earth and it’s here where Jesus does some of his best work. The Christian Life includes a conflict resolution mechanism between humanity and God. When Kevin passed on, he was received by the King of Glory, not because he, himself, was good enough, (who among us are?) but he had activated the conflict resolution through the Cross of Jesus Christ, so to be received into Heaven. Of that we can be assured. I miss Kevin …and I will see him again.
This morning, I was standing in a field as the sun broached the mountain behind me. The line of light, crossing the field was fast approaching me and I witnessed the exact moment when the sudden appearing of my shadow declared that the sun was risen. I think Kevin must have experienced something like that but only with an infinitely multiplied power and effect. It’s worth fighting for in ourselves and in help to those around us.
“The promise of the Resurrection is to motivate us to serve. ”
And one more thing… You are probably aware of that great chapter on the resurrection that we find in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Chapter 15 is interesting to me that in light of all that Paul says about that, he ends with…”Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” The promise of the Resurrection is to motivate us to serve. The beliefs of the average atheist has no grab and pull into the service of Mankind. Their worldview is void of objective realities that the Spirit-led Christian have as a constant companion. There is no point to make a world any better if it will crash in the Universal Heat Death at the physical end, prophesied by their cosmological prophets. Christians, on the other hand, are well aware that actions and attitudes have eternal consequences. Thanks, Kevin for teaching me that again.
And see you later, Brother.