"If for this life only we have hoped..."

[This funeral sermon was given today. The deceased, widely known by his nickname of Peck, was a veteran of World War 2.]

1 Corinthians 15:12-28
I didn’t know Peck. But as I spoke with his son the other day, I realized what a large hole his passing leaves in the life of his family and friends.

That’s not surprising when you consider it. He was, in many ways, a bigger-than-life character. In his younger days, he was know throughout this area as an athlete. As a young man, he served as an Army Medic during World War 2, part of the initial invasion force at Omaha Beach on D-Day. (And we salute him for his service, for being part of that generation of Americans that made it possible for all of us to live in freedom.) Back home after the war, he became an active participant in life in this community, including his involvement with the Democratic Party. I’m told that he made a point of attending his sons’ ballgames and those of his grandsons as well. He cared for his wife while he was physically able to do so. And I’m also told that his sons regarded him as their best friend.

No words spoken here today can fill the void left in the lives of Peck’s family and friends. You who mourn today have sustained a loss and grief never fully subsides.

But this is a critical moment to latch onto an important truth: This life, with its joys and griefs, laughter and tears, is not our ultimate destination.

The Bible teaches that when we die, we will stand before God. Those who have trustingly surrendered to the love and grace of God given through Jesus Christ will be with God forever, while those who have spurned Christ will be separated from God. Jesus puts it this way in a famous conversation He had with a man named Nicodemus:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. [As a matter of fact] God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” [John 3:16-18]

Some people latch onto God because they think God is a good luck charm who can help them get through times like these. God does want to help you through your grief, of course.

But the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ wants to be more than a good luck charm and more than a crutch to help us through tough times. He wants to be our God and Helper, our Lord and Friend for all eternity.

In the New Testament, a preacher named Paul says, “If for this life only we have hoped in [the God we know in Jesus] Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

Today then, to sustain you through your grief and to give you a hope that never dies, I want to invite you to put your full trust in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God in the flesh, Who came into our world first, to live with us, then to die for us, killing the power of sin to take life away from those who believe in Him, and finally, to rise for us, demonstrating that life doesn’t end for those who believe in Him.

Jesus also established His Church as a fellowship in which ordinary believers can share their joys and sorrows, worship and get to know God better, serve others in Jesus’ Name, and hear God’s Word of hope and encouragement, among other things.

I know that your grief is great. But, I can assure you that God’s love for you and God’s willingness to comfort and help you and to love you for all eternity is even greater.

Place yourselves in God’s strong hands. That’s where an endless supply of help and hope can be found. Amen