Between Here and There

I am pondering the events of the night before.  Getting the news that our good friend died yesterday certainly caused great swings of emotions.  There was sadness, of course, and yet there was relief as he was finally made whole in Jesus.  Which leads to joy, knowing that he was a child of God. 

But if you have experienced the death of one whom you loved, it is never easy.  I know some of those moments of grief, remembering, laughter, tears, and even silence.  I am praying for the family and friends of this man who called Jesus His Lord.

As a beautiful spring morning here at the coast emerges, with little wind, no clouds and the sun shining warmly across the ocean coast, I am struck by the odd contrast.  Primarily, of how this day must look depending upon where you see it from. 

This first morning without her husband, their dad, their grandpa, with the sun breaking into their rooms, slowly waking them from an evening of restless and draining sleep.  Their morning will be different than mine. 

I am sitting in my study preparing for a Sunday worship service.  They are waking to the stark memory of the night before.  Alone.  They will worship, yes, but it will be dissimilar to what they are accustomed to.  Here on earth, we awake to face the day, to battle the tears, to grasp onto hope, and the reality and temporalness of life.

He, on the other hand, when he awoke (pardon the poor theology and the use of poetic freedom), awoke this morning to glory.  No sun, just the presence of the Son.  Waking refreshed, waking praising, waking complete.  Another gorgeous day in eternity!

Words fail, but God is.  And because we are His, we are.  Good morning all.  Between here and there.  Here between heaven and earth.

My Friend Died

A friend of mine died tonight.  Just about an hour ago.  I hadn’t seen him much as he lived in Arizona.  But he was a friend none the less.  In fact, he came to our wedding.  Even at that time he was suffering from a terminal brain disease.

We went to seminary together and stayed at the same house for the overnight times.  He was the youth pastor at the church my wife attended.  And that is kind of how we met.  If I hadn’t asked him to bring his group to be counselors for our church’s children’s camp, well. . .

Now I know death happens.   I have experienced it painful finality several times in my life, a wife, a dad, a mom, a member of our youth group, but still the news always hits you hard.  Not as hard at his immediate family, though.  I cannot begin to understand the sorrow that they are experiencing, a mere sixty minutes later.

He certainly wasn’t old; in fact he was the same age as me.  At a time when he should be still serving in a church, going on dates with his wife, spending time with his kids and grandkids, his life was slowing dripping from him like a paper cup with a hole in the bottom.  Seems so sad, so senseless.  Too soon.

Unless you knew him.  And unless you knew his God.  My friend loves Jesus.  Yes, loves.  In the present tense.  Just because he has “left” this earth, doesn’t mean he’s gone.  He is just continuing on with his relationship with the God of the Universe.  Just, as his son wrote, at a new address.  However, we look at it, he finished the race.  He did what he was called by God to do.  Be a witness for Him.

Though we will never, on this side of heaven, understand the Lord’s perfect will and timing, we rest, we trust in the fact that it is so.  God has the things of our temporal and natural world, in His complete and capable hands.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, ^and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

 I believe.  My friend believes.

So, my friend, welcome home.