Recently, I had a good friend and brother in Christ of a young age that has died in a car accident. His name was Joseph, and he was just 19 years ago. I couldn’t explain it so much in words because there aren’t any words that would embody on whom he is. But the theme verse that was used in his memorial, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8). One of my memories of him is when we were out on a mission trip in Iowa. One night I was the one to give a devotion to the group, and after I gave my edification of the scriptures during a devotion, Joseph came and gave me such great encouragement of how much he enjoyed hearing me speak and wished I could speak more at his church (we were members of different churches). It was something that gave me encouragement that I’m on the right track and to keep running the race for the prize before me (Heb. 12:1-2). So when the news came that Brother Joseph has died in a car accident, it felt unreal and it took time to digest the information. To be honest, while I’ve had deaths in families, mostly while I’ve been young, Joseph’s death was hitting close to home with me. It made me ponder on the question “Why?” Joseph was the person you’d expect to grow to old age and impacting others along the way. In fact, I had hoped that he could join us this year on our Iowa mission trip again.
While the ultimate answer may be hidden from us as we cannot always know the mind of God, there has been a few glorifying moments of his death. One would be with his memorial service turned into a ‘standing-room-only’ service in a fairly large church, and his father took the time to go through the gospel with all eyes watching and ears listening which is the best way to honor Joseph in by honoring God above all else. It was made clear during the service that Joseph is not one to despair over because he is not as one without hope. For he has found favor in the eyes of God and believed on the Son which was able to redeem him from all sin (1 Thes. 4:13-14). In this, I look forward to coming reunion day when I get to see him basking in the glory of God, full of joy and peace.
Christians do mourn for others and the loss of life, but we don’t do so as without hope or ignorant of a coming reunion. One reunion, though, will surpass all other reunions is seeing the King, Lord, and Savior of all, Jesus the Christ. It’ll be the moment I will freely bow in submission at His feet and forever be in worship of Him. Oh, that He would save a wretched sinner like me. And one thing that resolved my convictions and faith, is the resurrection of Christ. For without the resurrection, of whom Christ is the first fruit, our faith would be in vain. As Easter approaches, we reflect on the events of Jesus ministries leading up to His death and resurrection. It is His death that brought us victory over the penalty of sin and it is His resurrection that gave us hope to the newness of life eternal. It was His resurrection that brought the 11 disciples, who once have been scattered, back together and began the great commission. Those disciples later became apostles which have stood boldly among men in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the resurrection was an epitome in their preaching and teaching. Because of the resurrection, the apostles were enriched with the undeniable truth that Jesus is the Son of God, and they remained faithful to His teaching even to their own death. As we see throughout the scriptures and in church history that these men died for proclaiming the Risen Lord is by which we must be saved. So, thank God for the Resurrection of Christ that brings hope to those who believed and trust in the redemption works on the cross.
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:1-10)
