Job 19 - 21 Have mercy on me, have
mercy on me, O you my friends,
for the hand of God has touched me!
22 Why do you, like God, pursue me?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?
for the hand of God has touched me!
22 Why do you, like God, pursue me?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?
23 “Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 Oh that with an iron pen and lead
they were engraved in the rock forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.[a]
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in[b] my flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 Oh that with an iron pen and lead
they were engraved in the rock forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.[a]
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in[b] my flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!
Revelation 2:10 -
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the
devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested,
and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be
faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
John 14:1-6 - “Let not your hearts be
troubled. Believe in God;[a] believe also in me. 2 In my
Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you
that I go to prepare a place for you?[b] 3 And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take
you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And
you know the way to where I am going.”[c] 5 Thomas
said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know
the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the
way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me.
Grace, mercy and
peace to you, from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen. Our text today is the Gospel lesson, along
with Evelyn’s confirmation verse. Dear
friends in Christ, especially Arlo, Eileen, and all other family and
friends. I hope there’s still room for
me in heaven when I die. One of the
family members told me that this had often been Blondie’s prayer. I hope there’s a room for me. On this day, Blondie knows the answer to that
question. She has lived her life for 90
plus years, and now she is before the throne of God, in the room prepared for
her since before the beginning of the world.
I am sure, that
Evelyn, just like you, and just like me, made this prayer out of a little
nervousness. I hope there’s a place in
heaven for me, because I know myself, I know my own sin, I know my own
guilt. And so I hope that there really
is a place in heaven for a poor miserable sinner like me. I hope I can be forgiven, I hope I can be
worthy, I hope that I have that promise of life, and life to the full.
This is even the
same hope that Evelyn’s confirmation verse states, “Be faithful unto death, and
I will give you the crown of life.” Have
I been faithful enough? Have I done enough? Is there a room in heaven for me? Or will I be left out, will I be cast out into
the outer darkness where there’s weeping and gnashing of teeth?
Where is our hope
in this world of sin? For we know it is
not within ourselves. We look even at
Evelyn, and as nice, as faithful, as ornery, and as kind of a woman as she was
she still had her doubts and worries.
She still wondered if she was good enough, or if she deserved that place
in heaven. And later in life, she was
more forgetful about where she was and when it was. Sin infects us all dear friends, and it looms
large with doubts and questions. Where
is our hope, where do we turn? Or are we
left out?
And yet, Christ
says in our text, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” “In my Father's house
are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to
prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may
be also.” Christ answers our questions
with a promise. Yes, if you believe in
me, there will be a room for you in heaven.
In faith in me, you will be brought to be with God forever in
heaven.
And so today as we
gather to mourn, we also have a sure and certain answer to questions. Today as we weep, and hurt, we know the
truth, that the Way, the Truth, and the Life keeps his promises to his faithful
people. Today as we grieve, we have no
doubt that for Blondie, for that sweet old lady whose teeth were always loose,
who always asked if we had the horses properly put away, and who was forgetful
in so many other places, that for her Christ kept his promise, and that she now
has her room in heaven forever.
We are certain of
this, for Christ has died for her, he has suffered for her, he went to the
cross for her, and he rose again for her.
And Christ has not forgotten Evelyn, he will not forget her, and he has
brought her to be with him forever. And
the truth is dear friends, this is the promise for you as well. There is a room in heaven for you as
well. Jesus has died for you also. And Christ will not forget you either.
Today we weep, and
today we mourn. It is right that we
do. And yet, “Let not your hearts be
troubled,” for today, Evelyn has the crown of life. Today she stands before the throne of God,
and with her own eyes, she sees God. And
one day, when Christ returns, with her own flesh, though it be destroyed by the
wears and weights of this world, she shall behold Jesus, and not another. And we shall be there too, for there is room
in heaven for you, for me, and for dear Blondie. And Christ will bring us all to be there.
Today Evelyn has
the crown of life. Today she is in
heaven. Today she is at peace, restored
to perfection through Jesus Christ her Lord.
Through Jesus, there is room for you as well. Praise be to God, and to Him alone be all
glory! Amen!
