Dear Faith Family, 

The joy of the Lord is your strength, (Nehemiah 8:10). 

In three days, a bunch (academic word meaning many) of people will gather to celebrate the life of a dear friend of more than twenty years.  The last two years of her life were marred with the effects of a dastardly disease.  Although the physical decline was difficult to watch, the joy that surrounded her quickly overshadowed her physical suffering. 

Celebration, you might ask?  Don’t you mean memorial service?  Well, in a manner of speaking, yes.  We will remember (if that’s what you mean by memorial) God’s gift to us through her life.  We will laugh together.  We will cry together.  We will recount the precious gift of her life.  Something we too often take for granted? 

But how do we celebrate her life after she lost her battle with such an awful disease?  Lost?  Is that a fair conclusion?  Really? 

Here’s the thing.  I confess that I love the first thirty-four verses of the Hall of Faith (you know, Hebrews 11).  Verses thirty-five through forty?  Not so much.  Have you read those lately?  Yes, they too are in the Hall of Faith!  Men and women of God, according to God’s word, of whom the world was not worthy! 

What if our suffering highlights the brilliance of our God?  What if His character is most clear in our hour of trial?  What if His glory is most evident when life is most difficult?  What if the source of joy (the Lord) is rightly discerned only when all other sources are rendered useless? 

If you knew my friend, you did see the joy of the Lord!  His joy proved to be her strength.  Celebration?  Celebration is rightly connected to victory.  And victory?  Her life both was and is.  With Paul, by the grace of Jesus, she can say:  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up 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 loved his appearing, (2 Timothy 4:7-8). 

And for the record, she didn’t lose her battle.  Oh, far from it.  She won!  Today, absent from the body, she is present with the Lord!  Through our tears, that sounds like something to celebrate! 

Celebrating, 
Pastor Karl