"But because of His great love for us,
God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in
transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with
Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order
that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace,
expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have
been saved, through faith -- and this is
not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
(Ephesians 2:4-8 NIV)
I recently walked through an old
cemetery in northern Wisconsin and came across one of the oldest graves there,
likely dating back to the latter half of the 1800’s. It was marked with a
white, vertical headstone. Most of the writing was no longer legible -- name,
birth date, death date. But what was still legible, written in a large, cursive
font, were the words “Saved By Faith.” What a lasting testimony to this
pioneer’s faith. His soul was “alive with Christ” even though his body was long
dead and buried.
I know nothing about this person, except
for this enduring witness. But it did give me pause, as I stood there before
this old grave, as to what I might want for my epitaph. It may very well be
“Saved By Faith.”
-- David T. Wilkinson
#4660
Showing posts with label cemetery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cemetery. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
NO NEED TO DESPAIR
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal
life..” (John 3:36a NIV)
The cemetery is a sad place. We don’t
like to say goodbye to those whom we love. It’s right for us to weep, but there
is no need to despair. They are, at this very moment, at peace in the presence
of God.
One of our church members asked me to
speak at the funeral of his mother. Her name was Ida, but her friends called
her Polly. Her son told me his mother had been unresponsive the last few hours
of her life. She never spoke a word. But moments before her death, she opened
her eyes and in a clear voice said, “My name is Ida, but my friends call me
Polly.”
Meaningless
words of hallucination? Perhaps. Or maybe she was in the presence of God --
maybe she was getting acquainted!
-- Mac Lucado in When Christ
Comes
#3912
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)