“So he drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way o the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24).
Hey Gang: There is
no question the great gift of all time given to us by our Lord is “For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have
eternal life” (John 3:16). But, as
I was standing by the bed of my brother who had suffered with Alzheimer’s for
many years and now had wasted away to a 79 pound piece of flesh, I realized
what a tremendous gift God gave to us when He placed cherubim with flaming
swords at the gate to the Garden of Eden to prevent our having access to the
‘tree of life’.
When I received the phone call from my daughter that my
father had had a series of strokes and was no expected to live the night, I was
in Illinois doing a workshop. I gave her
an impossible task: keep him alive until I get home so that I can say
goodbye. This she did, he was there in
bodily form only, and as I took his hands and said my goodbyes to him I closed
my goodbye by giving him my blessings to leave earthly body and go and be with
the Lord.
My father was 90; my brother was 86 years of age, both had
lived beyond the words of the Psalmist, “As
for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or, if due to strength,
eighty years” (Psa. 90: 10). For
more than a year my prayer for my brother was “Lord. I pray Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, and I pray that Your
will is to take him home.” What a blessing that he did not have to lay in
that condition until Jesus returns!
As a lad growing up I had a great fear of death. I lost three of my grandparents within a
short period of time and aunt to a fire.
It was during that time when our nation was locked into a world war,
where death was ever present. Many families changed the color of the stars that
hung in their windows which depicted whether their son or daughter was alive
and well, or had paid the ultimate price.
I grew up with the feeling that death and funerals were very
sad events and one should do us the Jewish traditions called for- bringing in
the mourners who wailed and cried out for days in memory of one who passed
away. I remember when my grandfather
passed away, the elderly ladies of the church, all dressed in black came and
just sat in the house for the three days until the funeral. As a little boy, death was a terrifying
event.
But then one day the father of one of my employees passed
away and I went to the funeral home to pay my respect to the family and was
absolutely amazed when I walked in. The air was filled with praise music,
people were singing and the building was filed with joy. It was at that moment that it finally struck
home - all of those verses that give us descriptions and promises that await
for God’s people who have completed their tenure here on earth and have been
invited to come and be with Him eternally.
Soooo, my young
friends if you have a fear of death, reread the fringe package that God has
prepared for those who love Him and called according to His purposes. There is a lot of running and leaping and
praising God going on in the heavenlies.
I also understand it is a noisy place, the air is filed with praise and
worship to our Lord.
Blessings,
Gramps
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