Remembering Linda - and, Looking to Jesus - at Church

Two days from now - Tuesday, March 3 - will mark one year since Linda left us to go to her beloved Shepherd - Jesus. This morning at church, she was much on my heart and mind as we sang the songs that were sung at her funeral (KJ's idea - you cannot believe how much I love and appreciate the staff at GCC) and I preached from John 10, the passage that meant so much to Linda that told of the Good Shepherds love for her. She had followed Him since she was seven years old, and in the last 13 months of her life, she sensed that He was carrying her in His arms. Here is a transcript of the sermon:

The Beauty of Life
John 10:1-18

A little over three and a half years ago, I was at Wake Med Hospital when it was announced that Dan Brisson had died in surgery. Most of the family was present in the hotel room at the hospital. Becky was there, of course, and the Lanes and their children and spouses and the grandchildren. It was a surreal scene. There was stunned silence on the part of some adults, quiet weeping from other adults, - - and jumping on the beds by the children. Efforts were made to subdue the children, but they were – well, little children. It was a vivid picture of the cycle of life. It was one of those seminal moments when you see the pain and joy of life all at once.

Becky is my second cousin, so this was family. And, it hurt. Of course, I have seen the same cycle of life in my own immediate family. Two days from now, this coming Tuesday, will mark the one-year anniversary of Linda’s graduation to heaven. Even so, my daughter, Autumn, is halfway through her first pregnancy – our granddaughter is expected July 13! As for Linda, preparation for real life ended March 3 of last year. She is experiencing life at a level that the rest of us can only imagine.

But wait – is it fair to say that only those that have left this world are experiencing real life? As painful as these past few years have been for me, I think not. In fact, our text today would argue against such a pessimistic view of this life, pain and all. But, is it fair to go so far as to title the message, “The Beauty of Life?” Is that fair to Rosa Maria Matthews who said goodbye for the last time to her mother this week or to Josh Tate whose face and hands were seriously burned yesterday as he served the Lord preparing dinner for the Grace Outdoors’ Banquet? Is it fair to the Moody’s who live with the agony of cancer in their 2 year old treasure named Cali or to Woody Woodruff who is halfway through chemo treatment, or to those who are still waiting for jobs?

Let’s take some time to answer that question. We will read John 10:1-18 together, but most of our focus will be on the truth found in verse 10. If you had much contact at all with Linda in the last year of her life, you know how very much it meant to her that Jesus was her Shepherd. Would you please stand for the reading of God’s word?

1 “Truly, truly, I (Jesus) say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of the strangers.”
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me,
15 just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again.
18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”

What does it mean that we are created in the image of God? Does it mean that God looked like us before we were created? There is indication, as we have seen these last few weeks, that God the Father may have some vague form of a human, but certainly nothing like us. We know that Jesus looked like us when He came here because he was one of us at the same time He was God – 100% God, 100% man. Most theologians believe that Jesus appeared in human form in the OT, though some would say He did not. The vague form of a human that God the Father takes in Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4 may be for our point of reference rather than an indication of His appearance in eternity past. The same would be true of any Christophanies that the OT may include.

In John 4:24, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that God is spirit, and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth. So, we will start defining what it means to be made in the image of God by saying that we are spiritual beings. God is spiritual, and so are we. We recognize that we are far more than flesh and bones. If our physical condition defines who we are, then the last year of Linda’s life was meaningless. It was not meaningless, though, because we are spiritual beings.

And, we are relational. We relate to our Creator, in fact, spiritually. To be made in the image of God means that we are spiritual beings, as He is, and that we have the ability to have meaningful relationships, both with our Creator and with other human beings. One of the reasons that we can meaningfully relate to God and to one another is our ability to reason.

In Isaiah 1:18, the Lord told a wandering nation of Israel, “Come now, let us reason together.” Of course, the ability to think rationally has been used by creatures to reason their Creator right out of existence! That was a risk God willingly took, though, if you are willing to accept that language. I think all of us are grateful that He made us with the ability to think and discern and draw conclusions. It is this ability to reason that many people point to as the primary component in the image of God.

I have heard it said, though, and it resonates with me, that the image of God is most clearly seen in the imagination because when we are creating, we are most like God. True. That is why secular art, secular literature, and secular music are not intrinsically wrong or evil. Much of what secular artists do is exactly what we were created to do. But, as with anything, sin often makes what could be beautiful, ugly. Even if there is nothing specifically sinful in the secular entertainment, education, and activities that we enjoy, to think we can find fulfillment or true life there is to be deluded and to be headed for major disappointment. For the Christ-follower to seek ultimate meaning in this life is to be intentionally deluded.

When we utilize our imagination, we do not create ex-nihilo, or, out of nothing. Any creations that we attempt, including our efforts at engineering life itself, are fashioned out of created substances of some sort. But, just consider how great is the imagination of men and women who are, after all, made in the image of God! Think of our discoveries and inventions just in the last century alone. Our problem, of course, is that we seem to be building another tower of Babel in which man thinks nothing is impossible to him. We seem to have forgotten that we are creatures working with a creation not of our own doing. We are not creators determining our own destinies.

The fall of man, when Adam and Eve sinned, marred a beautiful creation. Can you imagine what this place must have been like before sin? Can our minds conjure even the tiniest image of the beauty of an unspoiled world and only pure thoughts and perfect relationships and not even a hint of sorrow, pain, or death? Not even knowing what disappointment was, in fact! Can you imagine?

Unfortunately, we know “the rest of the story.” Sin entered this perfect world with perfect people and perfect circumstance – and, scarred the land and its inhabitants. Since that time, groaning has been the way of life. Not only do we suffer the consequences of sin, but Satan does all he can to insure that our experience is as miserable as possible. His plan for misery often includes the illusion of success and happiness in order that we might become proud and totally unprepared for the inevitable difficulties of life and for the natural conclusion of the universal principle of sowing and reaping.

After the fall, God brought some order to the world by giving laws to mankind – laws that were initially written only on the hearts of men and women, but were eventually given to His chosen people, Israel, in written form. The law provided a measure of structure and civility in the land, but its primary function turned out to be revealing man’s inability to live according to God’s standards. Our failure to meet God’s standards ultimately brings more intense pain and deeper sorrow. Death will always prevail, regardless of how closely one is able to live to God’s standard, unless that standard is perfectly kept.

But, the law was pointing to something – or rather, to Someone. The law pointed to Jesus! John 1 tells us that the world was full of darkness and death – and Jesus came to provide light and life, even in the midst of the chaos that is around us as a result of sin. To some degree, Jesus redeemed this world and our lives by His perfect life and atoning death. It is an incomplete redemption at present as we wait for the establishment of Jesus as King over the world and the entire universe. Thus, darkness and light, and death and life all coexist in this temporary state.

Theologians speak of common grace that is given to all mankind, and special grace that is given to the elect, who trust Jesus as their Savior. It is true that all men and women benefit from God’s common grace, but for those who follow Jesus – light and life are theirs, even when they suffer because of the curse of sin on this world. When life’s indignities and pain close in, those who know Jesus can rest in His life.

John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” That pretty much sums up what we have been saying, doesn’t it? To be more accurate, John 10:10 is the truth and we have been talking about how it plays out. Much of this life is less than wonderful. For Americans, bad news is particularly painful because we think we have conquered difficulties in this advanced age.

But, we are still susceptible to the natural laws of life in a fallen world. The pain that Chad and Sarah Moody are experiencing can be even more intense than it is in other places because their trial is juxtaposed to the “normal” lives of those all around them where vaccinations and superb medical care that is paid for by the ingenious system that gives us insurance companies combine to create an illusion of the idyllic life. Not so, but it seems that way. And, Satan appears to have won.

The thief has no good intention for us. But, he doesn’t have the final say for the Christ-follower! Satan has nothing but destruction planned for us – and, Jesus has nothing but good intentions for us! “I came that they may have life – and have it abundantly!” What does that mean? Does it mean that I have woken up every day this past year with praise on my lips, singing, “This is the day that the Lord has made – we will rejoice and be glad in it?” NO – I haven’t been rejoicing day in and day out this year! I have been crying a lot, in fact. Not nearly as much now as I did for the first six months or so, but it has been painful to lose the love of my life.

But, fortunately, Linda was not the only love of my life. Jesus was, and is. And, in Him, all will be made right one day. There is no need to think only of the future, though – He has promised abundant life now! How is that possible? By recognizing Him as my shepherd, just like Linda did. By believing that He only intends good for me, in spite of the pain of the curse experienced in this world and life as a result of sin. Jesus is the redeemer – and, life is beautiful, no matter how it appears right now.

To believe that life is beautiful is an act of faith. We all recognize that grief is a part of life, and it occurs when we lose something or someone we love. The promise of abundant life that Jesus promises would seem to indicate fullness and consistency. If our hope is in the blessings of life and the ease of circumstances, we will ultimately be crushed and the promise of life will seem like a cruel joke. If we trust our Savior, though, in the face of life’s pain, we will find meaning in Him. We will discover that abundant life is not in apparent success, or in ease of circumstances, or in the absence of pain and trouble. When we trust Jesus, we will find that life is in Him, just like He told us. Let’s pray.