Epicenter: Rome (Exchanging Death for Life) — Friday
Philippians 3:20
...we can hardly wait for a Savior from there… the Lord Jesus Christ. (NIRV)
Yesterday, we talked about waiting; today, we talk about hope. They’re inseparable, you know. Hope makes waiting possible. We’re not promised a trouble-free life here, but in Heaven, we’ll have one. That’s our hope, and one can live with anything whenever there’s hope.
Last year, I had the honor of preaching a funeral for a young doctor who tragically lost her battle with breast cancer, just 42 years old. She was delightful in every way. I baptized her and her entire family about twenty years ago. I began her eulogy with a story from Joe Bayly’s book, The View From a Hearse. He calls death “the enemy's grim violence." At times, I’ve felt that way, too—and I’m guessing you have as well.
He told of being on a flight from Chicago to L.A., where he engaged the woman next to him in conversation and asked where she was from. “Palm Springs,” she replied. Knowing that to be where the rich and the famous live, he asked, “What’s it like there?”
“Oh, it’s a beautiful place,” she said, “but filled with unhappy people.”
Thoughtfully, he asked, “Are you unhappy?”
“I certainly am,” she said.
“May I ask why?”
“I can answer in one word,” she responded. “It’s the word mortality. Until I was 40, I had perfect eyesight and perfect health. In the last few years, I’ve lost some of both… and I’ve come to realize that eventually, I’m going to die, and I haven’t been happy since.” Her comment reminds me of H.L. Menken’s words, “Death is a universal conspiracy not to be mentioned.” I’m told that the famous newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst never permitted anyone in his presence to mention the word death.
Many spend a lifetime trying to deter, but ultimately, all of us are 100% unsuccessful. If there’s nothing after death, “we are of all men most miserable,” said the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:19). But the message of Scripture is that Jesus is coming again. There will be a day when the Father says, “Gabriel, blow your trumpet. Son, mount your horse. It’s time.” And what a day that will be. As Paul said, “Death has been swallowed up. It has lost the battle” (1 Corinthians 15:54).
Friday’s Reflection
One of the questions that always perplexes me is, “Why would anyone want to go to the grave… without that hope?” My friend, Ashleigh, had it—and she would want you to have it, too. Do you? If not, let’s talk. I would be honored to have that opportunity. Hope is here, my friend, and it’s for you.
