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Perspectives in life

This past month was filled with many emotions as we welcomed new babies to our church family, witnessed engagements and weddings, attended a funeral, and even led a new believer to Christ. These are regular events in life, however, when they all occur simultaneously, it really gives you perspective on how we ought to live our lives. We are just a breath, a fleeting vapor, yet God intends for us to live to the fullest potential He purposed for our lives. My children have heard of deaths, but for some reason, the death of one of our college student's mother really sparked their interest. They don't even know who this lady is, but they kept asking if they could attend the funeral and see the dead body. We said, "no", but we are thinking of taking them to the cemetery to explain how bodies are buried.

"did she go to heaven, and is she with Jesus?" - they kept asking.

"yes, she's with Jesus now, and she's no longer sick. When you go to heaven, Jesus gives you a new body" - we said.

"how did she go up there?" - they kept asking.

Even for us, our physical death and our union with Jesus is quite a mysterious concept. How and when does this all happen spiritually? We'll find out in time. However, we do know that one day we will meet Jesus and we want to prepare our children to meet Jesus also. At the end of their lives or ours, will they be able to say to us, "Thank you for preparing me my entire life to meet the most important person, preparing me for what I'll do for the rest of eternity, worshipping Jesus..." OR, will they say, "Why didn't you prepare me, tell me more about Jesus?"

If Jesus is the ONE thing we can impart to our children, that's our desire....not an investment in a comfortable home, not a guaranteed college fund, not a spectacular title or career. More than words, we want our lives to be evident of the greatest treasure of Jesus in our lives.

June 06, 2008