Friday, November 29, 2002
Years ago when I went on my first international ministry trip, I went just about as far as you can go - 10,000 miles to Singapore, Australia, New Zealand. I was going to be away for three weeks, which was the longest I had ever left my wife and our three young children. My wife mobilized the kids to put little love notes all over and all through my luggage. We had a nice meal together on the way to the airport and then some special hugs and kisses at the airport. But I did have to leave. And I'm not kidding you, it was a sad moment. My wife was trying to look like she was fine. The children were obviously hurting. And I managed to hold myself together until I rounded the bend in the concourse, then I started wiping tears from my eyes. It was really hard, but one thing made it OK. It was only temporary. We would be reunited.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Only an Interruption."
Life's partings are tough, especially when someone we love slips into eternity. Death just rips us up inside, and the grief is sometimes almost unbearable. But because of Jesus, it's almost unbearable. Why? Because if we belong to Jesus, and our loved one did, then this is not the termination of our relationship. It is - because of Christ - only an interruption.
God describes this hope in our hurtingest times in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Thessalonians 4, beginning in verse 13. "We do not want you...to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." I'm glad God didn't say believers don't grieve, because we do. But we grieve with hope. He goes on to say, "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command ... and the dead in Christ will rise first." That's my Dad. That's my baby brother whose death brought our family to Christ. That's my grandparents. It's more and more of my friends.
The Bible goes on to say, "After that, we who are still alive...will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." Wow! When Jesus walked out of His grave, He conquered death for all those who would ever give their lives to Him. It doesn't mean our heart won't stop some day and this earth-suit called our body will die. But it means the real you, your soul, will go on forever in God's great Heaven.
Is it any wonder the Bible says, "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is, your victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:54, 55) You may be struggling with the loss of someone you love. And the pain is very real. Death was never meant to be part of our lives. Sin brought in death. But Jesus died to pay the death penalty for our sin, and then, on Easter morning, He beat this monster that had beaten every person who ever lived.
So now, because of Jesus, the very worst death can be for believers is an interruption of the relationship, never a termination. If you have never put your total trust in Jesus to be your own Savior from sin and death, don't risk another day without Him. If you want to belong to Jesus, I would love to send you the booklet I wrote about this relationship called "Yours For Life." Just let us know you want it.
That day of my long trip ... the pain, the tears were real. As they are on a much deeper level when someone we love is leaving us for eternity. But you can handle the leaving if you know what I knew that day at the airport ... that this separation is only an interruption and an awesome reunion is coming.