WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE?
This is the question my youngest brother Jeff put to me one night. It was out of the blue and totally unexpected. I thought of the story of the prodigal son. In particular I thought of his homecoming and the welcome his father gave him. The father was obviously watching out for him because he saw him when he was still a long way off.
Luk 15:20 And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Luk 15:21 And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you, and am no more worthy to be called your son.
Luk 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring the best robe and put it on him. And put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet.
Luk 15:23 And bring the fattened calf here and kill it. And let us eat and be merry,
Luk 15:24 for this my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found. And they began to be merry.
I told Jeff how this related to out Heavenly Father's love for us. He watches out for us and is always there for us. He has compassion for us and runs to us. We are precious to Him, more so than we can fully know. He kissed His son, total love, total acceptance!
The son was given the robe, which speaks of Righteousness, the ring given to him speaks of inheritance. He is home, where he belongs.
The shoes speak of the walk, or the life ahead, which is prepared for and orderly.
Last, but not least, the celebration. The killing of the fatted calf, which was done on very special occasions. This was one of thoe occasions!
So God's complete acceptance and welcome for those of His that pass from this life to the next is evident.
We talked some more about this that night and went off to bed. That was the last time I saw my brother alive.
"JEFF IS DEAD"
It was about 2am when I woke to hear my mother saying "Jeff is dead." She told me later that she said a lot more than that, but that's all I heard when I woke.
A car had pulled out in front of him and he had come off his 1,000 cc Suzuki motorbike and died instantly at the scene of the accident of a broken neck.
There was no blame on anyone for Jeff's death, it was in God's hands.
DEVASTATED!
I felt my insides collapse with the shock and grief I felt. For the first time in my life I understood the meaning of the word devastated. I honestly felt as though I would not be able to get up off my bed. Physically and emotionally I was incapable of moving.
GIVE ME THE GLORY
It was at that point that God spoke to me. He said "Les, will you let this thing destroy you, or will you give Me the glory?"
I knew that if I hesitated I might not want to give God the glory. I could easily blame Him, or not forgive Him for letting it happen, but by now I had learned to trust Him in everything. I said to Him "Lord I give you the glory."
GRACE
Immediately I felt His peace flood through me. I was still weak with shock and feeling very fragile, but His grace gave me the ability to get up and respond to what was happening to our family.
The police were at the door and we were soon in their car being driven to Palmerston North (50 kms away) to see Jeff. They stopped half way and we were transferred to another police car to continue the journey.
THE DECISION
Once we were in Palmerston North we were taken to where my brother lay. He was behind that closed door. I didn't know whether to go in and see him or not. I was unsure about what I would see or how I would react. I asked God if I should go in or not, but this was one of those times when He left the decision up to me.
I struggled with the decision for what seemed like an age, and then decided to go in and see him.
THE LOVE SONG
He looked peaceful lying there. As I stood by his head looking down at him God said to me "Les, Jeff had a love song for Me trapped in his heart. Now he is free to sing it."
I praise God, my awesome Heavenly Father for sharing that with me. It has always been and still is a source of peace for me and I cherish the fact that one day we will meet again.
It took me a long time to get over Jeff's death. But God's peace was always there for me and He gave me the strength to carry on. I know that God knows best and Jeff was taken to be with Him because it was the best thing for Jeff.
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This is the question my youngest brother Jeff put to me one night. It was out of the blue and totally unexpected. I thought of the story of the prodigal son. In particular I thought of his homecoming and the welcome his father gave him. The father was obviously watching out for him because he saw him when he was still a long way off.
Luk 15:20 And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Luk 15:21 And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you, and am no more worthy to be called your son.
Luk 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring the best robe and put it on him. And put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet.
Luk 15:23 And bring the fattened calf here and kill it. And let us eat and be merry,
Luk 15:24 for this my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found. And they began to be merry.
I told Jeff how this related to out Heavenly Father's love for us. He watches out for us and is always there for us. He has compassion for us and runs to us. We are precious to Him, more so than we can fully know. He kissed His son, total love, total acceptance!
The son was given the robe, which speaks of Righteousness, the ring given to him speaks of inheritance. He is home, where he belongs.
The shoes speak of the walk, or the life ahead, which is prepared for and orderly.
Last, but not least, the celebration. The killing of the fatted calf, which was done on very special occasions. This was one of thoe occasions!
So God's complete acceptance and welcome for those of His that pass from this life to the next is evident.
We talked some more about this that night and went off to bed. That was the last time I saw my brother alive.
"JEFF IS DEAD"
It was about 2am when I woke to hear my mother saying "Jeff is dead." She told me later that she said a lot more than that, but that's all I heard when I woke.
A car had pulled out in front of him and he had come off his 1,000 cc Suzuki motorbike and died instantly at the scene of the accident of a broken neck.
There was no blame on anyone for Jeff's death, it was in God's hands.
DEVASTATED!
I felt my insides collapse with the shock and grief I felt. For the first time in my life I understood the meaning of the word devastated. I honestly felt as though I would not be able to get up off my bed. Physically and emotionally I was incapable of moving.
GIVE ME THE GLORY
It was at that point that God spoke to me. He said "Les, will you let this thing destroy you, or will you give Me the glory?"
I knew that if I hesitated I might not want to give God the glory. I could easily blame Him, or not forgive Him for letting it happen, but by now I had learned to trust Him in everything. I said to Him "Lord I give you the glory."
GRACE
Immediately I felt His peace flood through me. I was still weak with shock and feeling very fragile, but His grace gave me the ability to get up and respond to what was happening to our family.
The police were at the door and we were soon in their car being driven to Palmerston North (50 kms away) to see Jeff. They stopped half way and we were transferred to another police car to continue the journey.
THE DECISION
Once we were in Palmerston North we were taken to where my brother lay. He was behind that closed door. I didn't know whether to go in and see him or not. I was unsure about what I would see or how I would react. I asked God if I should go in or not, but this was one of those times when He left the decision up to me.
I struggled with the decision for what seemed like an age, and then decided to go in and see him.
THE LOVE SONG
He looked peaceful lying there. As I stood by his head looking down at him God said to me "Les, Jeff had a love song for Me trapped in his heart. Now he is free to sing it."
I praise God, my awesome Heavenly Father for sharing that with me. It has always been and still is a source of peace for me and I cherish the fact that one day we will meet again.
It took me a long time to get over Jeff's death. But God's peace was always there for me and He gave me the strength to carry on. I know that God knows best and Jeff was taken to be with Him because it was the best thing for Jeff.
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