Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day!
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Kick the bucket. Pushing up daisies. Worm food. Gone to the other side. Passed on. In a better place.
= Dead.
There is something of a stigma surrounding death. Which I get. Sort of. (Don’t freak out. This post isn’t going to be exceptionally morbid. Just hang with me.)
Thanks to Adam and Eve’s forbidden fruit fiasco in the garden, ALL of us will eventually die. Our world is all about living life to the fullest, counting our days, treasuring our moments. And rightly so. Because our time on earth is fleeting. As it says in James, we are just a vapor and our life is but a mist.
I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the cessation of my time on earth. But as Christians, sometimes it is healthy to think a little farther than what is for supper or how many appointments we have on the calendar next week.
God has given us the opportunity to leave a legacy. A legacy not for us– but for Him. Although our physical, breathing lives are very limited, the spiritual implications of our lives can be eternal.
And that all starts with having an eternal perspective as we seek Jesus in our Everyday.
I have been working through several bible studies this year and God continues to put this idea of being eternally-minded on my heart.
One optional homework challenge for my bible study was to write my eulogy… In advance.
Some people would see that task and totally wig out. I don’t want to think about my death! It depresses me! Give me more time, Jesus!
But for me, it is a motivator. I want to leave something behind that will last when I pass away, be that in 10 minutes or 70 more years.
I pray that this pseudo-eulogy doesn’t make me sound like Braggy McBraggerson. My hope is that this brief reflection of my life fuels my heart to continually be transformed so that when that glorious day of heading Home to see Jesus face to face DOES come, it is more true than false.
And now, in loving memory in advance, I present– my eulogy.
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Today, we celebrate the life of Sharita. Notice that I emphasize the word celebrate. Although we mourn her absence on this earth, this is a ginormous party going on in heaven right now, for one of the Lord’s own has arrived home.
Sharita’s life was not one of perfection– believe me, she had her faults. But she was constantly on a quest to become more and more like Jesus everyday. She was not a fan of Jesus, sitting in the stands cheering Him on… But she was a follower. She wallowed through the trenches, got her hands dirty, as she worked through the power of the Holy Spirit to minister and encourage those around her.
Sometimes, people thought Sharita was a little bit crazy. She didn’t take that as an insult, but a compliment. She figured if she was going to be deemed a little bit nuts, who better to be crazy for than the Savior of our world! Sharita sacrificed opportunities and did things for Christ that made other folks raise eyebrows. But even nonbelievers could see something different about her. Sharita’s charismatic personality and heart for Jesus would draw even the most wary into His presence.
Sharita held a variety of roles in her life- wife, mama, friend, coach and encourager. But none of her roles brought her more joy than her call as a minister and as a daughter of the One Most High. Her ability to hear from the Spirit and speak truth while simultaneously sharing His grace was a gift that could only be achieved through anointing of the Lord.
So today friends, let us rejoice. Let us rejoice that Sharita spent her days working for rewards that don’t tarnish with time but remain forever. If she were here today, she wouldn’t tell you that she has died for the first time– but she has died daily for decades. Today signifies only her physical death. She ran her race strong to the finish. There is no doubt in my mind that as her last moments on earth ticked away, she was greeted by the Lord with open arms, enveloped into a hug, greeted with kiss on the forehead as He whispered those words she longed to hear: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
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Sweet friends– what key points do you hope that your eulogy encompasses? I would love to hear– please share below in the comments.
Writing this eulogy has really made me think deeply about how God is working in my life– and encourages me to continue to seek transformation so that when that fateful day DOES come, all of the above words will ring true.
Now maybe it is just me, but I feel like singing a rousing round of “To God be the Glory” and getting in line for a ceremonial potluck.
Living for Eternity,
“Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?”
~1 Corinthians 15:55 MSG
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