My mother-in-law passed away this week. She was in no way the quintessential mother-in-law of pop culture. She was gracious, loving and gentle. She had faced many challenges in her life, but did so with grace. She was always loved by her daughter and son. She in turn, always loved them. As those who knew her consider her passing it is understandable that so many would find the same silver lining in death’s dark cloud- that she is no longer suffering from any of the ailments that afflicted her. That is good news indeed, and something to be celebrated, something to give thanks to Jesus for. It is not, however, the first thing I will be grateful for when my time comes, nor the second.
The greatest thing, of course, about passing on to glory is the glory. That is, when a believer dies he receives the beatific vision, the blessed sight of beholding the glory of God. That joy will expose every earthly joy for what it was, a pale shadow, a faint whisper of the true Source. This is His exceedingly great reward, given to us by His grace.
Relief from physical sufferings might come in third on my list, especially when I’m in the grip of a kidney stone attack. But even then, something far more important, far more shocking would be second on the list- a whole other kind of healing. Sharon, beloved mother of my beloved Lisa, has been healed in her soul. Every internal pain, every internal weakness, every internal blemish, every festering sore in her spirit is now gone. She’s not going to know sin any more. Though the stone of sin’s guilt fell from her back the moment He gifted her with faith, the phantom weight of guilt that she, like the rest of us, felt while walking in this sin weary world, disappeared. Though sin’s power was broken when the Spirit entered her body, sin’s presence ended when her spirit left her body. “Free at last,” Sharon cried that morning she beheld the dawning of the Son, “free at last. Thank God almighty, I’m free at last.” She now stands straight and tall, even as she bows in humility before the throne of her King.
We do not take death seriously enough. We wrongly scold mourners, reminding them when we gather that we are there to “celebrate a life.” We gloss over the destruction wrought by sin, when we ought to enter in. When we have done so, however, then we may enter into the victory. One of the blessings of death is that the sorrow it brings to we the living drives us to count the blessings of the gospel, to yearn for all His promises. Sharon walked through her days like Isaiah, a woman of unclean lips dwelling in a land of unclean lips. She, however, was cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Declared righteous then she has now been made righteous. Declared His daughter then she is now held in His arms. I give thanks for her life, and dwell daily with her precious daughter, one of the two great blessings she left behind. She gives thanks for her death, for it brought her to life.
If you desire to be a help with Sharon’s end of life expenses you can do so here.
