What Am I Trusting In?

This is an excerpt from "Afterlife" that may be helpful to you during these trying times.  As Christians, we still suffer the trials of this world.  Some of these include being separated from loved ones by death or illness.  This conversation from "Afterlife", I hope, will help to renew your hope in the miracle that each of us possesses in Christ.  It may even answer some questions you may have about what it means to actually be "in Christ."  Amiee is the main character and she has just lost her Grandmother who was not only her mentor but her idol.  We need close relationships but they must not take the place of the one we have with God...

"Excuse me, Miss." said a soft voice. "It is time to close the casket now."   

Amiee stared blankly at the Funeral Director who had quietly come up behind her.  She had been completely lost in the past.  She shook herself. "Could I have just five more minutes?" she croaked through her tears.  The Funeral Director nodded and left her alone with her thoughts.

As she had stared at the peaceful face of her grandmother, an incident flashed back into her mind; one that she hadn't thought of for nearly fourteen years.  When she was twelve, her grandfather had died and she remembered watching her grandmother stand in the same place that she now occupied.  Grandma had been staring at Grandpa with the same fervent hunger that now possessed her.  Then, as the Funeral Director tried to close the lid on Grandpa's casket, Grandma had stopped him, asking if she could have one more look. 

Her tear-worn face remained calm, as she leaned over to affectionately kiss her husband's face.  Her grandmother had always had a strange serenity about her. Even though she had grieved deeply over her husband's death, this inner peace remained essentially undisturbed.   The shocks of life didn't seem to rattle Grandma as they did so many others.  A few weeks after Grandpa’s funeral, Amiee, in childlike curiosity, had asked her grandmother if she still missed Grandpa. Her grandmother's answer had always perplexed her.

"How can I miss him when he is right here with me?" her grandmother said.  

"What do you mean?" Amiee asked, now quite curious.   

"Well," she said stroking Amiee's jet black hair, "when Grandpa and I accepted Jesus into our lives, two things happened.  We went from being spiritually dead in our sins, and separated from God to being forgiven and "with" God through His risen Son and His Holy Spirit. Jesus had "redeemed us" by His Death and Resurrection. This made us spiritually alive as if sin had never separated us from God, the Father.  Freed from the power of sin and death we were then adopted into God's family and received His Holy Spirit. 

Because His Spirit lives within us, Grandma continued dreamily, "we became new creatures who were spiritually connected not only to God but to each other so our marriage was really a mirror of that connection." We knew that one day we might be separated physically, but because we truly believed that our home was in heaven and that this life was only temporary, we were not afraid of death."

"But Grandma!"  Amiee exclaimed "Everyone is afraid of death!"

That is simply not true.  We are all afraid of the unknown, Christians know that to be out of the body is to be "home" with the Lord.  While it's true that we are all afraid of pain and suffering, we can prepare for our physical death by agreeing with God that he has given us eternal life.   The belief in eternal life, which has its being in the living Christ, can dispel the fear of separation from God and one another.  Death's sting has been removed.

Amiee was silent...

Do you remember when our Pastor would say that we, who believe are now "In Christ"? Grandma asked her.

"Yes," replied Amiee, "but I never really understood it." 

"Well," said Grandma, "it means that Christ lives in each of us by His Spirit and that we who believe then become a part of Him and of each other.  We are forever connected. That is what is called the "body of Christ". Grandpa and I always believed these truths completely.  So, instead of clinging only to one another only, we both worked on clinging to Christ and putting Him first.

"What has that to do with missing Grandpa?" asked Amiee.  

"Well," answered Grandma, "I want you to understand that while I very often miss the physical life that we had together, I know that our spiritual relationship is not dead.   So I have hope!  I am in Christ and so is Grandpa, therefore if Christ is in my heart, then where is Grandpa?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye. 

"In your heart!" cried Amiee with childlike enthusiasm.

"So," Grandma continued, "whether in death or in life, we are part of one Body. We are more surely connected today than when Grandpa was alive."

"I never feel really alone or lost as many others do." she stated emphatically, "for I know that I am loved by and spiritually one with the greatest Being in any Universe, and I know that Grandpa is one with Him as well.  Therefore, I am never in despair, because I trust that Grandpa's and my physical separation is only temporary."

"Temporary?" Amiee echoed questioningly.

"Amiee,” Grandma said patiently, "It is clear that we are not meant for this world, but for another.  In your heart, I think you know that.  One of my favorite writers CS. Lewis said that fish never ask why the water they live in is wet, yet we humans question one of the primary elements we live in."  

Amiee sat entranced as Grandma continued. "Time and its passage is very often a mystery to us." she said dreamily.  

"Do you remember when Aunt Marie was visiting last week and she was astonished at how you had grown and changed. Wouldn't you think that she should automatically expect such a change if "time" were our natural element?" 

"We never seem to get used to the passage of time.  Grandma concluded with a chuckle. "It is slow when you are young and yet speeds up as you grow older.  Why I feel sometimes that my life is just hurrying by”

Then her face grew serious. 

"No, she continued, "This world for all of its desirability and difficulties is not our home, but simply a proving ground; a place that, because of its imperfections, challenges us to lean on Christ, the Savior and Lover of our souls.  He is now our righteousness before God and if we follow Him, His Spirit will empower us every day to grow and become more like He is," she said fervently, "so that one day we will be prepared to step into the eternal life that He has secured for us.".

"I loved Grandpa," she said emphatically, "but Jesus always came first.  Both of us believed this, and because we gave Him first place in our lives, the Lord was able to step in to fill the gap caused by Grandpa's passing. My life and identity are not grounded in Grandpa, but in our Lord.  My relationship with Christ was and is the sustaining force in my life, and while I long to be with Grandpa," she continued, "I understand that God's plan is unfolding as it should, so this desire I have is with the anticipation of the life that we will have in the brand new bodies that Christ promised to His Church.  Every day, I find peace in that thought and even joy."  

Amiee stared at her blankly...

"Everyone dies, Amiee." Grandma smiled. "It is part of the process."

"What process is that, Grandma?  Amiee asked.

"Lord, love you!" exclaimed Grandma excitedly, "The "process" of Sanctification!  When we are saved by Christ, we are not simply forgiven.  Redemption is not some insurance policy against hell, Amiee.   That's worldly thinking. It is so much more than that.  We are being re-created every day; becoming brand new creatures in Him. We are God's adopted children and He has promised us that we are heirs along with Jesus in His Kingdom." 

"One thing I know,' she said "is that God has never yet broken a promise that He has made in His Word."

"In the meantime," she continued:"we must grow and be tested so that we can one day reign with Him.  The trials we often face prove our faith, not to God, but to ourselves.  They help us to grow into the fullness of Christ so that God's Glory might be seen in us.  You and I, Amiee are God's warrior princesses!"

Amiee was stunned by this news. Grandma's face once again grew serious.

"The problem is". she said soberly, "that many people try to work for their salvation, measuring their progress against their neighbor and not against Christ. They often perceive worldly accomplishment as a sign of God's approval and as a result, they work for and cling to a world that is passing away.  Their life-view is upside-down to God's."

"Upside down?" Amiee parroted.

"Yes," said Granma emphatically, "His ways are opposite to ours and those who can't accept that fact, often characterize  God from a merely human perspective, and so go their own way."

"I have often wondered," she mused. "How one could enjoy being with God and be made fit for the heavenly duties as an heir with Christ if one is still hampered by a desire for this world and what it has to offer. Pride makes people think they know more than He does and that is a trap!  God's ways and ours are in opposition, and the devil, our adversary, uses the tension that our pride creates to deceive us, drawing us away to serve ourselves or "other gods".

"Once you make the choice to follow Christ," she continued. "you must trust in Him daily, not only for this new life but for your new identity as well. Sometimes the things He asks of us will seem illogical, but that is because our understanding is inadequate. The book of Romans tells us that we must change our thinking to the way that God thinks about things. (Romans 12:1) In order to do that  we must hide His Word in our hearts.

"Now," she concluded her eyes twinkling, "how about some cocoa!"