My wife’s mother died in late October. Her name was Alice. She was one firmly rooted to her locale, even her huge garden that she weeded in the early dawn every day into her 90s. I never saw a weed in it. It kept her young and limber. She woke up with a purpose.
But now she lives, eye to eye, with the one whose purpose was to save her so that she would be where He is. Her purpose is to serve and praise her Lord and Savior, whom she worshiped faithfully and to whom she prayed daily.
We are all created and saved for the same purpose. I’m sure it will look different in heaven for each of us. Alice will do heaven different than my mom, Eleanor. That is what I think, anyway. The “real” Alice will be finally and absolutely very real and her unique purpose will be brimming with a joy that only she can express.
On Sunday, November 3, we will remember the saints who died in Jesus as we will sing “For all the Saints” and commune together in the great foretaste of the feast to come. There is such a thin veil between heaven and earth and it is the thinnest at the feast. Remember your loved one and may your hunger for that blessed reunion deepen.
And then when Monday rolls around, remember it is one more day the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it. Air, even if it is of this earth still, fills your lungs. Your muscles enable you to live and move and have your being in Jesus Christ, whom you will serve that very day. Your life on Monday has a purpose. Live it out, to the glory of God until he calls you home, too.
- Pastor Jim
(Newsletter article from Pastor Jim continues in our monthly newsletter)