“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4
Jesus was trying to explain to his disciples that he was going to die. He wanted them to know that he was going to the Father’s house to prepare a room for them and that they would one day be reunited and because of that he told them to not let their hearts be troubled. Jesus leaving them was a hard thing for the disciples because they, like most of the Jews in that time, wanted Jesus to be the earthly ruler and king. The Jews expected the messiah to come and rule as their king removing them from the hands of the Romans and bringing Israel to a place of power once again. The only problem is that the Jews plan was not God’s plan and therefore many people missed the messiah because they were too busy looking for an earthly king. I often wonder how many times we miss God working in mighty ways because we are too busy looking for the things WE expect to happen in our own way.
My grandmother passed away Sunday morning and I will be attending her visitation tonight and funeral tomorrow. I am stuck between feeling joy and sorrow. She has suffered for so long and now she is in the Father’s house, the place that Jesus prepared for her, where she will suffer no longer. Her suffering is over and her life has just now begun. My grandmother isn’t really dead she is in fact more alive than she has ever been and it is in this that I take great joy. And yet as I look at my father and my uncles and see their sorrow and pain, and as I recount all of the good times I have had with my grandma then I am filled with sorrow for the loss of such a sweet woman. “Do not let your hearts be troubled…”
One thing that funerals always teach me is that life is not about material wealth, selfish pleasures, and personal gain, but instead life is about relationships. When it is all said and done and life is coming to an end the only thing you have left is your relationships. Material items fade away along with wealth and pleasures, but the strong relationships you build in life will be with you till the end. Do you have a wonderful group of Christian friends? Do you spend time with your family? Do you care for others more than you care for yourself? And most important of all, do you know Jesus?
Pressed
