G. K. Chesterton once said, “When a man has found something which he prefers to life, then for the first time he begins to live.” If that’s true, then last week I saw our beloved brother, Don Thurman, more full of life than ever before. No doubt, Don preferred Jesus to life long before he was on his deathbed; but on his deathbed he whispered in my ear that he was weary of this life and ready to be with Jesus. His body had grown weak and frail, but his faith was as strong as it had ever been, and therefore, even in his dying moments he was truly full of life.
This is cause for rejoicing. Our brother has crossed over the river into the Celestial City, where there is no more pain, no more tears, and no more death. Don has entered into the joy of His Master. And indeed, joy is now Don’s reality as he basks in the radiance of His Savior Whom he has loved more than life for a lifetime. No wonder God’s Word says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). God brings His saints home through death. For us death has become a doorway into eternal joy.
Now, though this is indeed cause for rejoicing, in this life it’s also cause for grief. Don’s gain is our loss. Don was a faithful man, a faithful husband, a faithful brother, a faithful father, a faithful grandfather, and a faithful friend in the world and in the church. He was a child of God, a citizen of God’s Kingdom who stood out and shined out in this world full of darkness and decay (Matthew 5:13-16). He was a beacon of faith who pointed people to Jesus in the church and in the world. He was a man who could lead a room, fill a room, and stabilize a room… And his leadership, his presence, and his voice will be desperately missed. And the loss of all this—the relationships we had with him, and the presence, leadership, and voice he had with us—is cause for genuine grief.
Loss and grief… Grief and loss… We’ve gone through a lot of both of these lately. As I’ve wept and thought about why the tears were falling down my face, what has come to mind again and again is change. Loss is hard, but it’s the change that comes after the loss that seems to make it even harder. All those everyday things that we took for granted that we will never experience again… It seems it’s not just the loss of the person we grieve over, but the loss of every experience we have had and hoped to have had with that person. Now all that has changed, and everywhere we see and feel that change we feel grief as well.
But, there is a change coming that will override all of this. One Day Christ will return and fully and finally make all things new, and death will be no more. And in God’s wisdom, our faithfulness is a part of that coming about. As we faithfully love Jesus and live for Jesus in every area of life, seeking to bring all things captive to Him, slowly but surely every enemy of Christ is coming under His feet… Slowly but surely every area of life is joyfully being submitted to the Lordship of Christ. And it is after all Christ’s enemies have been brought under His feet that He will return to fully and finally make all things new (1 Corinthians 15:20-28). So, every change we make that helps us and this world embrace greater faithfulness to Christ is working toward the great change that we all long for… The change that will fully and finally make all things new, freeing us from sin and death and all their effects, which means no more loss and no more grief.
With this in mind, we can embrace change, even though it hurts. We can continue to pursue faithfulness and walk faithfully in this world, even through the grief, even through the pain, knowing that every loss, every battle with grief, and every change are a part of something bigger and better that will one Day bring about the great change we all long for. Like Don, we can love Jesus more than life because we know that loving Jesus is what leads to true life—life to the full now, eternal life to come, and the glory of perfect life in the new heaven new earth to come (John 10:10, John 11:25, Revelation 21).
As you know, Romans 8:28 says that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him. And the good that is in view there is Jesus—being made like Him, enabled to live for Him, and being with Him, enabled to live with Him and glorify Him forevermore. That is what we are to prefer to life, because ultimately that is what true life is and is all about. And even death, for the Christian, is a part of this. No doubt, there will be times in this life where we feel buried in loss and grief; there will be times where death and sorrow seem overwhelming; and there will be a day when we too shall die. But, we must remember that we serve a God who knows the Way out of the grave. Jesus died and rose on the third day. We were dead in our sin, but God has made us alive together with Christ, given us newness of life, and made us new creations in Christ Jesus. And one Day death will be no more, and we will all be raised to glorious resurrection life forevermore. Jesus knows the way out of the grave. So, though we will grieve in this life… though we grieve now, we do not grieve as those who are without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We have the hope of the resurrection. We have the hope of true and perfect change. And so, every change that comes about now that brings with it loss and grief, should remind us of that ultimate change that brings with it life and glory.
Chesterton was right, “When a man has found something which he prefers to life, then for the first time he begins to live.” So, may we follow in the footsteps of the faithful who have gone before us, like Don Thurman. May we be people who love Jesus more than life. For then we will truly live life as it was meant to be lived; and when our time here is done we will enter into the joy of our Master, and we will grieve no more. Until then, may our griefs and losses push us to greater faithfulness, for the glory of God, the good of His people, and the life of His world. Amen.
In Christ’s service and yours,
Nick Esch