See you later, Aunt Jennie

Jennie Dickson was 102! She was one of the founding members of our church ‘way back in 1947, a long-time Sunday School teacher, and a good friend. Well into her 90’s, she drove her car down the mountain and to our front door to worship. And last Sunday, her journey here on earth came to a close. We’ll have her funeral today and then commit her body to the ground, but we won’t say good-bye. Instead, we’ll bid her rest in the arms of her Lord and say, “see you later!”

The hope of our faith is eternal life. I love what Paul says about this.... “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (1 Corinthians 15:17-19, NIV) "But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died." (1 Corinthians 15:20, NLT) The keystone of our faith is the Resurrection! The Cross is the key to our restoration to our Father. The Empty Tomb the proof of our hope, the symbolic doorway to Heaven.

Disciple, we must not only drag this doctrine out of the Bible at funerals and Easter! We need to be Resurrection people, our lives kept on track and focused by this promise. Our reservation is confirmed, our destination certain. This great truth is not only comforting. It is compelling! That great treatise on the Resurrection closes by urging us to stay steady. Keep the Faith! "In a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort." (1 Corinthians 15:57-58, The Message)

What Aunt Jennie did for the Lord and our church has disappeared under the weight of time. There are perhaps a couple of dozen people left in the congregation who even know her. Few realize the key role she played in bringing the church into existence, her sacrifices of time and resources to make it thrive, her steadiness to the church through it’s up’s and down’s over the years, but God knows and she was welcomed into His house, blessed and honored daughter of the Father.

See you later, Aunt Jennie.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8, NIV)

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When the trumpet
Of the Lord shall sound
Time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks
Eternal bright and fair.
When the saints on earth shall gather
Over all the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder
I'll be there.

And on that bright
And cloudless morning
When the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory
Of His resurrection share;
When the chosen ones shall gather
To their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder
I'll be there.

So let us labor for the Master
From the dawn 'til setting sun,
Let us talk of all
His wondrous love and care;
And when all of life is over
And our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder
I'll be there.

When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder
I'll be there.

When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder
Black, James M.

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