One Final Move

On Monday, my parents had the job of moving my grandmother into a nursing home. As grandma has moved up into her 90's, the aging process has been evident these past few years as she has gone from independent living to needing day to day care. Over the past 18 months she has gone from living in an apartment on her own, to a few month stay in the hospital because of a fall, to a semi-independent living arrangement to the nursing home with full time care.

The emotions that go along with all these moves has been huge in that Hebrews 9:27 becomes more of a reality as the years go by and both individuals and families are faced with the reality of aging and death. The wages of sin is indeed physical death and families every single day around the world stand at the graves of loved ones. Until the return of Jesus, one profession that will always have work is that of the funeral director.

Now, odds are good that this was grandma's last move here on earth and to a certain extent there is sadness in that. But, here is the wonderful truth of God's Word that my family and I are resting in very comfortably. Most likely, the next move grandma makes is from that nursing home into the presence of Jesus. (See 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10, Philippians 1:21-24) No U-haul will be needed as our glorious Savior has made all the arrangements through His death and resurrection. The debt of sin has been paid by Jesus (See Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-10, 13, John 14:1-6)and when grandma closes her eyes one last time here on this earth they will open to gaze into the face of her Savior that she has put her trust in for salvation and has faithfully loved and served for 90+ years.

Please understand that I'm in no hurry to see her leave this earth, but the reality of this most likely being her last move here on earth cannot be denied. But praise God that through the emotions of all this, my entire family has a HOPE that cannot be shattered or shaken. (See 1 Corinthians 15, Romans 8:18-39) For any who may be following my life journey through this blog, my honest prayer is that you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior so that your final move from this old earth into eternity is one that is filled with hope and assurance. If you find yourself full of only fear and uncertainty when thinking about your final move, I would love the opportunity to dialogue with you about Jesus who longs for every human being to see their final move into eternity firmly secured in Him and Him alone. You can contact me at tdauld@lgbc.org

I know the day will come when I have to preach grandma's funeral, but amongst the tears there will be joy in knowing she finished well for her Savior whose presence she will spend eternity.