I write this blog with a really heavy heart as I think about the recent loss of two of the dearest & closest people in my life. I want to just talk a little about the affect these two people have had on my life and talk about how their beliefs were not just important to them but are of eternal importance to us all. I write this not to sound like a pompous Christian promoting my own words but I write this because I believe in the infinite importance of Gods words. I really want to ask that you read this carefully and with an open heart.
Some people will know that under 2 weeks ago I lost my Papa. To put this in context, I spent alot of my childhood with my Gran and Papa and so we developed an extremely close relationship. My Papa was a bold man with a real strength of character. As my dad said at his funeral "Bert didn't like grey, he was black or white."
This boldness and strength was apparent in many ways but most importantly in my Papa's faith and love for God. My papa was not just a grandparent but was a constant mentor and spiritual role model to me, influencing many of the decisions I made in life. I watched and admired how he loved people, and wanted everyone he met to know the Love of God just as he did.
My Papa sang the praises of God right up to the night he was called home and I can say joyfully that as he shut his eyes, he woke up to see the face of the Lord!
My dear friend and sister Nikey was taken 11 days ago. As I walked by newspapers and adverts I could hardly believe they are talking about the same friend that I cherished so dearly.
Nikey started coming around our house as a teenager to babysit us, just as we do now for her two beautiful children, Caleb and Mackenzie. She was the big sister we never had and we often laughed about her being an extension of our family.
As I grew up and Nikey started to have her own family, she became my friend. Many of my happiest memories are with Nikey as we talked and laughed, whether it was on the holidays we went on or whether it was just sitting at home having a glass of rose wine. She was a constant in my life, she knew me inside out, and I relied on her and valued her more than she will ever know.
Nikey was a great encourager and my last conversation with her as she dropped me at the train station last Monday night was one of Hope and Encouragement.
She was explaining how she'd recently been alerted to the importance of REALLY living our lives for the Gospel.
"We need to giving 100 percent all of the time, none of this lukewarm nonsense! We need to stop mucking around in this life!"
And so Iam writing this blog with urgency because I realise that "Our lives are like a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears." (James4v14)
I want to continue on this passion Nikey had for being uncompromising for the Gospel and to know what it means to say "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1v21)
When death arrives, we are humbled to realise just how finite and fragile our lives are. We are nothing compared to Almighty God yet ... in His mercy, he sent his son Jesus, fully man yet fully God, to identify with us in our suffering and ultimately to solve this problem of pain, stemming from our sin.
Hebrews6 v 18&19 tells us that "We who have found safety in Him are greatly encouraged to hold firmly to the hope that is set before us. We have this hope as an anchor for our lives. It is sure and steadfast ."
It is because on that cross, Jesus who had spent eternity loving his Father was separated from him. Gods rightful anger at sin was poured out upon his own son. He loved US so much that HE took the punishment. God humbled himself and gave up EVERYTHING on that cross, so that we could be free from our sin! But Jesus didn't just die for us, otherwise we would be merely worshiping some dead man. He rose again! God was able to defeat death!
So what does this mean?
1. This means when death comes, we no longer have to fear. We instead cry,
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?.... But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
(1 Corinthians 55-57)
Death does not have the final say, although it hurts now, we have the ultimate victory because of the cross.
2. This means that we can live with the certainty that we have an eternal life waiting for us in heaven with God. We can be sure that one day all pain and suffering will be gone, that he will wipe away every tear from our eyes and that all our needs will be satisfied because God is the only one who can satisfy.
3. This means that no matter what we have done, we can have a relationship with the living God. We can admit that we don't know best and hand our lives over to the one who knows our every need because he created us.
You might be reading this blog and have never heard this message before. You might think Iam just some mental brain washed Christian and reading this was a waste of time. You might have heard this a million times and it just seems like it is not for you. Perhaps you are a Christian who has lost faith that God is a good God who loves us and wants to help us.
Whatever you think and feel about God, can I ask that you take the time to look deeper into Christianity, to think about what is the truth! The Bible makes a promise..."Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open." (Matthew 7v7)
Looking deeper means wholeheartedly searching for the true, living God. Not the God who suits you best, or who fits in with your lifestyle.
If you feel like you have been there, done that but have had previous bad experiences, I urge you, don't let past experiences of church or Christians put you off, but instead fix your eyes on the only person who will never let us down because he IS LOVE and we are not.
You may think Christianity is simply a crutch for the "weak" but if you really take a look you will discover that Christianity is not a crutch for the weak. Although God promises to give strength to the weak, Christianity is for those who have discovered the truth and who are strong enough to stick their neck's out for what they believe.
If you are a someone who understands who God is and what he has done, but you haven't decided to fully commit then I urge you to stop wasting your life. God has called us to be a light to this world so that others can have this hope of eternal life, are we going to waste this opportunity to give it to them? Are we going to put our faith into practice, or are we going to continue to believe it yet do our own thing? Luke warm Christianity doesn't work, I have tried it and have found that it only leads to a sad double life, where you feel far from God because you do not trust that he is good enough to provide all your needs.
For me as I have experienced death in adulthood for the first time, I realise the absolute pain it brings but I have also realised the joy it is to know that the people I love are safe with God.
I believe that only Jesus Christ can heal the brokenness of this world fully and that he loved us so much that he sent his only son not to condemn us but to save us so that we can have everlasting life!
If you don't know Jesus I ask with all the love in my heart that you find out more about him, not so more can join the Christian club or so we look good but so that you too can have this gift of a life with Him. If you are a Christian but have forgotten that Jesus is a God of love, then go back to the cross. Discover the wonder of what He did for us and ask God to dissolve your frozen heart which is so forgetful to his love.
'When wounded sore, the stricken soul lies bleeding and unbound, one only
hand, a pierced hand, can salve the sinner's wound.
When sorrow swells the laden breast, and years of anguish flow, One only
heart, a broken heart, Can feel the sinner's woe.
When penitence has wept in vain over some foul dark spot, one only stream,
a stream of blood, can wash away the blot.
'Tis Jesus' blood that washes white, His hand that brings relief, His heart
that's touched with all our joys, and feeleth for our grief.
Lift up Thy pierced hand, O Lord; Unseal that cleansing tide; We have no
shelter from our sin, But in Thy wounded side.'
