Gday friends and hopfully friends soon to be.
As a pastor one duty I never look forward to is officiating funerals.Even when the departed is a believer and we all know their location with the Lord, it is still a sad time of loss. We do take great comfort in the knowledge that we will see our loved one again and never have to say good by again. But the loss, the sense that ,for a time, we will not have them close by brings us sorrow and the real sense of loss. One of the most difficult funeral services I have ever attended was that of a young child. All his short life he as plagued with a disease that kept him sick and severely restricted . He was deeply loved by his mom and dad and while on this earth he know he was a special kid and was loved by God. Shortly after I learned of his death I was out on a prayer walk talkin with Papa .As a Christ follower for 30 plus years I knew that God has his reasons for everything but I still had questions about why this little boy was not healed though many prayers went up for him.As I stood amidst the green plants alng the softly flowing creek a small brightly colored butterfly landed on the flowers of a particularly vibrant green bush. I watched as this creature flitted from branch to branch and flower to flower and then fly off on some new adventure beyond the range of my sight. At that moment Papa spoke to me. He said Son that little child you are mourning is like the butterfly I just sent your way. The butterfly was not always so beautiful and free. There was a time when it was a caterpiller crawling along the ground moving from place to place slowly and with great difficulty. It was also in constant danger from predators that would attack and eat it. But now ,as you have seen, that same caterpiller has become the beautiful winged creature freely flying about where ever it wishes high above the dangers that once stalked it, freely exploring the world I've created withoutthe ground obstacles that once limited it's progress. This child you mourn is now like the butterfly. He is no longer confined to a body racked with pain and severely limited in his activities. While on earth there was much he could not do much he could never experience. But now he is free to discover and explore the whole universe. He is no longer encumbered by a mortal decaying body but he is enjoying a new body one not unlike my own. Yes son there will be mourning and there indeed must be. But take comfort in this that this boy sees my face daily and we talk and he is safe and free and happy with me, as one day will be his mum and dad and those of you who love him and love me. Death has indeed lost it's sting Bless the lord !!