Church blog – 23 December
Each time I minister at a funeral service, the gravity and pain of sin is overwhelming. Firstly, the physical death of the person is as dramatic an exclamation mark to those remaining family members that their loved has ceased their physical presence with them.
Every day forward from the day of the funeral service will never be the same. Christmas, anniversaries, birthdays and other family events, their absence will be felt for the first time.
Then there is the actual grief, the loss, the pain that digs deep into the very hearts of family, sometimes it seems inconsolable!
I often see men who have been holding firm their emotions but there comes a moment when no matter how they try, the dam bursts the surge of grief overwhelms them and no matter how hard they try, they are consumed.
The damage of sin is death ultimately but its cousins in tow are grief, pain, sorrow and loss.
This all as a result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.
As a child of Christ, when I see all this before me, it breaks my heart to see the ravages of sin so clear and dominant. But it is at such moments, that God’s love rises afresh within me and I carry each and every face in mourning to the very throne room of God.
It is there I can call on the Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, to send His comfort down upon those in greatest need. I do not leave the funeral with a sense of helplessness but with the knowledge that God Himself ordained our attendance that we might be the channel of His comfort and grace in such a time of need.
The Bible tells us that God attends the funeral of every sparrow – Mat 10:29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.”
If our hearts break when we see such pain and sorrow in the faces of those around us, how much more must it break our Lord’s heart during such times?
I believe God has opened a door for us in these Last Days to bring a message of hope and comfort to those whose pain is unbearable without Him.
I encourage you to ask God to open your eyes to those in need around you, to see into their hearts like never before, as God sees them, and to bring these who are in distress to the throne of God by your praying for them!
I want you to read the following lyrics from the Christian music group – Leyland, as I think they capture this moment in time beautifully:
“There are many prodigal sons
On our city streets they run
Searching for shelter
There are homes broken down
People’s hopes have fallen to the ground
From failures
This is an emergency!
There are tears from the saints
For the lost and unsaved
We’re crying for them come back home
We’re crying for them come back home
And all your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home
Father, we will lead them home
There are schools full of hatred
Even churches have forsaken
Love and mercy
May we see this generation
In it’s state of desperation
For Your glory
This is an emergency!
Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children in Christ you stand!
Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children in Christ you stand!
And all Your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home
Father, we will lead them home”
May God move on our hearts now as He calls us to be His ambassadors in this moment in history!
By His grace
Keith