Jr.Willile Glover,a son, brother, an uncle, a cousin, a friend, and co worker. He was was born, he lived, he died, he went home to a place prepared for him. We all go through that cyle of birth, life, and death because its automatic. Yet it takes a willful decision on our parts to go home to place prepared for us.
For those who remain on this side of death, the Bible tells us, there is a time and a season for everything under the sun. A time to laugh and a time to cry, a time to hope and a time to give up, a time for joy and a time for pain, a time to be born and a time to die. The one experience that is common to us all is death. It is as common and as natural as all the other things done under the sun.
The Scriptures tell us that there is a way that seems right to a person, but at the end of it is death. If we are all living in order that we might some day die, it should be of utmost important that we live in such way that in the endour lives would not have been lived in vain. Whether or not we have lived in vain will not be determined by how much we accumulated in terms of material goods, for naked we came into this world, and naked we go out.
The only thing that we can take out of this world is what we have given away. For that is how Jesus said to lay up treasures in heaven. If we have not loved and have not given then our living has been in vain. I did not know James or Jimmy as he was called, but I did get a glimpse of him and his life through his big sister, Marcia.
God sends everybody into the world with a gift to offer to the rest of humanity. Sometimes we do not appreciate the gifts and the struggles of others. James came into this world with a gift, but his life began with a struggle. He was born with pneumonia and spent a lot of time in an iron lung and many thought he would not survive. But he did because God had placed within him a gift which was to be a blessing to others. As a child he was literally beaten into a comma because of racism. Again he was not expected to survive but he did, because God had placed a gift within him to be a blessing to some of you.
Jimmy as a young child was blessed with the gift of intelligence. He was the quiet scientific type, a tinkler with ideas and with things. You may have called him a book worm. He was quiet, living under the shadow of the out goingness of his big sister. One of Marcia’s dream for her little brother was to get him on that show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" She had the utmost confidence that he would win, and if she had to call on anybody for help with an answer, she’d call her Jimmy. You know you got it together when your big sister thinks highly of you.
He had a gift of being there for people. He was with his mother until she died. He took care of his father until he died. Family meant a lot to him. There’s a picture with him and Marcia with the words "Brother and sister forever." Although he did not have kids of his own, there was a tremendous love in his heart for his niece and nephew, Anitra and Steve. I’m told that Anitra was as special in his life as any daughter could be, and she had the power to bring joy out of sorrow in his life in a way that nobody else could.
Perhaps one of the greatest gifts that God gave to James Samuel Barnes Jr. was the gift of giving back to people without seeking something in return. His volunteering at the clinic was simply an extension of his desire to bring joy into the lives of others. He didn’t give in order for others to say, "Wow look at Jimmy." He did it because it was a part of his gift. He had a reputation for being a kind of a gentle giant.
A huge man on the outside, with a heart of tenderness and compassion molded by the desire to be respectful and kind to others. Throughout his life, he was an intelligent but simple man, who accepted things for what they were. He would want it to be known that he cared about people. The last two years of his life, he reached out even further than he had in the previous 47. Just as he began to truly enjoy the capacity to love life, death came unexpectedly to tap him on the shoulder.
Death is closer to all of us than we think it is. If you had to meet it today and your life would be over this afternoon, would you be happy with the life you have lived. Would you be ready to go with no regrets? Have you said your were sorry to those you hurt and granted forgiveness to those who hurt you? Would you be as certain as being in heaven tomorrow as you are of sitting in this room today. The good news is that it is still possible for you to be certain.
How many of us live as though death is a million years away from us? How many of us pay more attention to what our hair looks like than we do the condition of our souls which is what ultimately counts.
Death is significant only because it marks the end of our opportunity to have an affect upon others for the sake of Jesus Christ. For as I said before, the Scriptures tell us that there is a time for everything under the the sun. A time to be born and a time to die. The mere fact of being born is a guarantee that we shall one day die. A lifetime in eternity hangs upon the balance of the choices we make during the brief interval that we call life.
But death is not something to be feared, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not die but have everlasting life. Jesus, God’s Son, said, let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me. For I go to prepare a place for you. Not only has Christ gone to prepare a place for us, He has revealed to us the road in which we should follow.
Jesus tells us that there are but too roads in this life. One way has a wide gate, is a broad road and that the bulk of people travel upon it, but it leads to death and destruction. He tells us the other road has a narrow gate, is very narrow, and that few people travel upon it, but that it leads to life. Jesus himself is that narrow gate. For he issued a call, "If anyone wants life, let the person deny himself or herself, pick up his or her cross and follow me.
Have you ever wondered how good do you have to be to go to heaven and meet God. The truth is, none of us could ever be good enough to go to heaven. It’s worthless to even try it. But going to heaven isn’t about how good or how bad we have been. It’s a matter of do we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Jesus has gone forth to prepare a place for each of us. But, we must make a choice. None of us know the day nor the hour when we shall leave this world. Christ has died on our behalf that we might have life. It’s as simple as confessing our sins, our yielding our lives to him. For in the end, the only decision that will matter is what did we do with Christ. For only what’s done for Christ will last is going to matter a thousand years from today.
The joy of dying in Christ is that goodbye is never goodbye. For the word of God clearly states, " Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men and women who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord’s own words, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left at the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down form heaven, with a loud command, with the
voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and
the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left, will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. Our God is faithful.
