“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”
I read these words from the Gospel of John at the funeral of a friend this past weekend, words that Jesus spoke to Martha. Pat Rising is a child of God, a loving husband, a great father, and a wonderful grandfather… and he loves Jesus. I use the present tense, because Jesus says he still lives. How can this be?
“Do you know what Jesus said next to Martha?” I asked the congregation. “He asked, ‘Do you believe this?’” There, in front of a few hundred people, I asked myself: “Do I believe this?” Martha gave an instructive reply that didn’t really seem to answer the question but was accepted by Jesus: “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
“Here’s how Pat still lives,” I proposed. “Pat Rising lives in Christ. When he passed away from this earth, he still remains in Christ. Since Jesus lives at the right hand of the Father and Pat is in Christ, Pat also lives.”
Paul wrote: “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…” Ephesians 2:4-6
After the funeral, all were invited to go to the fellowship hall of the church building for a meal. Wonderful reunions took place and all the family members were encouraged. People hung around for quite a while. As I was getting ready to leave, a friend of the Risings, older and wiser than me, shook my hand. “I loved what you shared about Pat being alive in Christ. Here’s another thought: our bodies are just tents. Pat’s tent was in decline because of cancer but his soul was always alive. And his soul lives with Jesus today.” Praise God for His great love!
“Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
“Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
II Corinthians 5:1-10