Faith is believing in something you have not seen; the reward for faith is seeing what you believe.
Last Wednesday I went for the wake of a friend's parent, and it sort of shook me up a bit. Firstly, it was the first Christian funeral which I went to, and I think God had intended for me to be there - prior to the wake I was actually kind of frustrated and mellowed at something rather trivial (in the long term, a.k.a. eternity). In the long run, it was not about me and my whims and fancies, but rather, whether God has been glorified in my life. And I didn't think that being caught up in my little world of "I wants, I hopes" helped glorify God. So I kinda snapped out of it, pronto.
Secondly, at the wake, I was taken aback and very surprised that while there was mourning, that my friend also mentioned, in addressing the attendees, "a celebration", that my friend's mom had gone to be with the Lord. It kind of shook me into an urgency to want to evangelize to my parents and siblings too - not seeing them in heaven with the Lord is the last thing I want. Everyone needs Jesus. It's true!
Thirdly, I thought of what would be said of me at my own funeral. Would I be able to proclaim, as the apostle Paul did, that "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" - 2 Timothy 4:7.
If you're reading this, and not a believer in Christ and without faith, it is my most sincere prayer that you will join me in the faith to believe what I have not yet seen, but am certain that in keeping the faith that is given by God's grace my reward would be to see what I believe in. See you there.
