Are you ready to go home?

Al Stein came to know Christ at Faith Discovery Church (then Washington Assembly) when we were both young adults. He sensed God’s call and prepared for full-time ministry. Over the many years since then, our paths would cross from time to time, both of us pastors, fathers, and disciples of Jesus.  Last night I learned that “Steiny” was in Heaven!  He preached at his church this past Sunday and then later in the day, he was killed in an auto accident. The news hit me hard

I am comforted as I think of Al Stein’s death by the fact that he was a man who loved Christ and did His will.  He died as we see it from our side but, in fact, he only changed his address.  He is more alive now than he was a week ago – alive, never to die.  He became a new being at that transition moment.   I do not understand the 'how,' but I hold the promise in faith - that Al lives - 'absent from the body and present with the Lord.'  (2 Cor. 5.8)

Thinking about Al, makes me ponder the opportunities seized and those missed!   This reminder of the brevity of this earthly life renews the question:  "Jerry, are you doing your best in God's service?  Are you offering your 'utmost for His highest' or are you pushing important decisions off to another day, assuming that life will go on and on?”   Given the limits of perspective, I suppose that  the better question to ask is a prayerful one.  The Psalmist's prayer moves me beyond self-examination and invites the eternal Spirit to work in my heart and mind.   "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24, NIV)   I see the future dimly, if at all. He sees my life, not just in this moment but in the context of eternity.   “Oh, lead me, Lord, to live a life worthy of Your love, full of Your beauty, and focused on Your eternal home” is my prayer. 

Let’s not forget that today is packed with opportunities that are unique to this moment!  This day cannot be erased or relived. When it is done, it is over.  The promise of Heaven is a wonderful comfort, but until then we cannot drift along through life.  There is simply too much at stake to waste time.  I go often to Moses' Psalm (90) where I find a prayer about living well.  Moses, the man who loved God deeply, also respected God's judgment, albeit tempered by His love.  In the center of the Psalm is this prayer.  "Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!"   It my prayer!  Is it yours?   Are you just 'killing time' letting one day flow into the next drifting with the current of events, or are you a change agent of the Kingdom of Heaven?   Paul urges us to excellence. He says, "So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don't act  thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do." (Ephesians 5:15-17 )

How do we live a life that brings Heaven to earth, connecting today with the timelessness to come?

Be thoughtful!  Lives that matter do not just 'happen,' they are intentional!

Exploit the opportunities that come your way! 
Be intentional finding purpose in God's will and Word, not the 'wisdom' of the world.

For a life lived well, there is a reward.  Sometimes we get to experience the reward now, but we are guaranteed a perfected knowledge when we finally step into Heaven.
Here’s the word from the Word. "Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear. Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear. It’s like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:8-13, NLT)

Al, we remember you with joy and join our Savior in saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”   The memory of your earnest discipleship blesses us. Rest well, dear brother.

__________

What A Day That Will Be

There is coming a day,

When no heartaches shall come,

No more clouds in the sky,

No more tears to dim the eye.

All is peace forevermore,

On that happy golden shore.

What a day, glorious day, that will be.

What a day that will be,

When my Jesus I shall see.

When I look upon His face,

The One who saved me by His grace.

When He takes me by the hand

And leads me thro' the Promised Land,

What a day, glorious day, that will be.

There'll be no sorrow there,

No more burdens to bear.

No more sickness, no pain,

No more parting over there.

And forever I will be,

With the One who died for me,

What a day, glorious day, that will be.

Jim Hill

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