Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid (Val-la-de-lid), Spain, in 1506. There is a monument in that city that commemorates the great explorer.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion at the base of it where the Spanish National Motto is engraved.
The lion is reaching out with its paw and is destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain’s motto for centuries.
Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Because of that, their motto was "No More Beyond."
The word being torn away by the lion is "NO”, making it read "More Beyond."
For Spain, Columbus had proven that there really was "more beyond."
You know, the same is true for those that have discovered Jesus Christ. There really is “more beyond”. (Borrowed from Roy Fowler’s Funeral Sermon @ SermonCentral.com)
The word of God says in Psalms 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His Godly ones."
This means that on April 27th, 2004 something happened that the Lord thought was very precious. On that day, God sent his angels to Benkelman, Nebraska to bring another one of his children home.
In two weeks from today, I will be giving the Baccalaureate Address to the graduating class from Lakeside Central High School. Each one of those young men and women will be receiving a diploma that states that they have finished their courses and are ready to move on to the next stage of life. On Tuesday, Thelma graduated from this life and moved into the next. In God’s eyes, she had finished the course and was prepared to move into the next stage of life.
For several years now, Thelma had been suffering from a terrible disease. Alzheimer’s had begun to destroy her mind. On Monday, Pneumonia had gotten into her lungs and – as Gary shared with me – Thelma was in desperate agony. Finally, Tuesday, God decided to end the suffering that Thelma was enduring and asked his messengers to go bring her to Him.
Alzheimer’s is an insidious disease. It is a thief. It is a disease that steals. Alzheimer’s steals memory. In Thelma’s case, family members shared with me that there were times when she couldn’t even remember who they were. Her memory was being taken from her slowly. Alzheimer’s steals time. In Thelma’s case, it stole years from her life, and it stole precious time with her children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren.
Alzheimer’s steals happiness. The pleasures of simple things were stolen from Thelma. She loved to crochet and do patch work quilting. But because of her illness, those things were taken away from her.
There were many other things that this disease stole from Thelma in the final years of her life, but, let me tell you what it couldn’t steal. It couldn’t steal her faith. It couldn’t steal her hope. And it couldn’t steal her love.
Scripture is very clear on this point. 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us that three things will abide forever . . . faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.
First, Thelma’s illness couldn’t steal her faith.
It couldn’t steal her relationship with Jesus Christ. It couldn’t steal eternity. Merlena shared with me this week about a very special day that her and her daughter Janelle had with Thelma about 4 or 5 years ago. Merlena told me that they were concerned about Thelma’s spiritual condition. They were unsure of her relationship with God. They wanted to know if she had a relationship with Jesus Christ.
And so one day, while they were visiting, they got the opportunity to ask her the most important question a person will ever hear or answer; Do you know for certain that you will go to heaven when you die?
During that time, Merlena and Janelle shared with Thelma four simple truths that changed her life forever; truths that come from the Bible.
First, they shared that God loved her. Most of us are familiar with the passage from John 3:16 – it is a wonderful truth – That God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life. That love was for each one of us. He loves you and me just as much as He loves Thelma.
But there was a second truth that they shared. It was that Thelma – like all of us was sinful and was separated from God because of that sin. Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” You see, we were all created to have fellowship with God, but because of sin, that fellowship is broken. We can try as hard as possible to work our way back into favor with God – but because of our sin – it is impossible.
The third truth that Merlena and Janelle shared explained the only way to repair that broken fellowship was through Jesus Christ; that through Him, every one of us can experience God’s love in our lives.
Scripture tells us that “God demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Christ died for our sins . . . He was buried . . . He was raised on the third day . . . all for us. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
You see, God has bridged the gap that separated us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place and to pay the penalty for our sins.
The fourth truth that Merlena and Janelle shared with Thelma was that she could know the promise of eternal life in heaven with God if she would place her faith in Jesus Christ and receive Him as her Lord and Savior.
The Bible tells us; “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”
That day, Thelma did exactly that. She heard the truth and she bowed her head and in faith, prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.
Her faith in God’s grace is why many can be here this morning, mourning her death, but at the same time rejoicing that she is in heaven.
You see, even though Thelma was losing her cognitive abilities to Alzheimer’s, her faith couldn’t be stolen. Today, Thelma has recovered all of her faculties. Today, Thelma knows the joy of the Lord as she has never known it before. Today, Thelma walks the golden streets of heaven with friends and family who went before her. Today is a wonderful day for Thelma because God tells us that faith will abide forever. Once she committed her life to Jesus Christ, nothing could separate her from his love.
But faith is only the first of three things that Thelma had that will abide forever. The second is “Hope.”
By “hope,” I’m not talking about a strong desire – Like; “I hope I get a new car for my birthday.” For those who have faith – “hope” is the promise of things to come. You see, even while Thelma was in the nursing home, even while her memory was slipping, there was a hope in her life; the belief in a promise of something greater. Thelma new the assurance of eternal life in heaven. She knew that there was a day coming when she would be ushered into the presence of God and He would take her to her new home.
I love the promise that Jesus made to his disciples shortly before he died: In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
For everyone who knows the promise of God, this is their hope – one day, I will be with the Lord forever.
You can take comfort in knowing that Thelma’s hope was not in vain, that God has fulfilled his promise in her life and that she has received her commendation; “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Listen to these words of hope found in 1 Corinthians:
50Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55“O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
We can find comfort in these words. I am reminded of Martha, sitting at her brother’s tomb, four days after he had died. When Jesus came to visit her, he gave her words of hope, words of promise. The promise that Jesus made to Martha at the time of her brother’s death is the same promise he makes to us today; Jesus said* to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24Martha said* to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The same comfort that Jesus offered to Martha that morning, he offers to us this morning. "Your sister . . . (your mother, your mother-in-law, your grandmother, your aunt, your friend) . . . shall rise again!" Do you realize that there is a day coming, when the trumpet will sound, and the heavens will part, and the graves will be opened and those who are dead in Christ Jesus will rise again to live forever? That is the promise of the Bible. That is the promise of God. That is the promise that Thelma believed. That was her hope. And today, she has seen that hope fulfilled.
The third aspect of Thelma’s life that couldn’t be stolen from her was her love. You are here this morning, because Thelma was a woman of love. She loved people, she loved the Lord – she loved you. God’s word tells us that the love that she carried is eternal. It will live on in your life and in her life for all of eternity.
This morning, as we think about her life, let’s also take a moment to consider our own lives. I would encourage you to ask yourself a very simple question; “Do I have the assurance that when I die, I too will go to heaven?” The Bible tells us that all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. Thelma made that commitment – she accepted Jesus’ death as payment for her sins. She knew that she had been forgiven and that one day, she would step from this life into an everlasting life of joy.
I wonder this morning, if we can imagine what that was like
• What must it have been like to step up on a shore and discover it was heaven
• What must it have been like to reach out and take a hand and discover it was God’s
• What must it have been like to take a deep breath of cool refreshing air and discover the smell of paradise
• What must it have been like to feel invigorated and discover it was immortality
• What must it have been like to rise from the pain and the turmoil of earth into an unbroken calmness and discover it was glory
• What must it have been like to look into those deep loving eyes and discover it was Jesus Christ.
I believe that if Thelma could be here and speak to us today, she would tell us that her life has just begun – and her desire would be that each one of us would give our lives and our hearts to Jesus Christ. She would also tell us not to mourn. She might say; "I am with the Lord. If you mourn, don’t mourn for me – I am at home where I belong. If you are sad because I am gone, then look for me in the love you have for each other. Be comforted, look to Jesus, and I will see you again."
And that is what you must do today. You must find your comfort in the love you shared with Thelma and with one another. You must find your comfort from God – who is, as the Psalmist says; "our refuge and our strength, a very present help in times of trouble "
You see, God – through Jesus Christ is our comfort and help in our times of distress. So often, we think of Jesus as our Lord and Savior – which he is. But, we must also remember that Jesus said "no longer do I call you my servants – I have called you my friends." The writer of Proverbs tells us that he is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Today, tomorrow, next week, next month – you may find yourself alone. Your friends, your family may not be around. You may find yourself missing Thelma – longing to hear her voice, see her smile and know her laugh. It is at these times that knowing Jesus Christ as a friend will truly help. It is at these times that you can turn to Him. It was Jesus, himself, who said; “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” So, it is in these times that we can go to Jesus in prayer and know that he hears and that he cares. And Christ doesn’t offer a temporary comfort, a calming for the here and now – it goes far beyond that. When we turn to him in our times of mourning and distress, He will bring a peace that passes understanding. He offers an eternal peace, an eternal comfort. Today, as we go from here, may we go in peace, knowing that Thelma celebrates, even as we mourn her loss . . . knowing that she is home with the Lord
May we also go in peace, knowing that Jesus Christ himself has offered us the same eternal hope of salvation and that we too, will one day know the joy of eternity in His presence.
May God Bless Each and Every one of you today.
