A matter for reflection by Gary Rose

This past weekend we went to my sister-in-laws' wake and funeral. Dorothy Campbell was a bit older than Linda and I but we were friends during high school and went on dates with her future husband Dick during that time. For those of you who never knew her, Dorothy is the one in the middle of this picture who is wearing the white blouse.

Memorial services tend to be times of reflection and Saturday was no exception. For some reason, I kept looking at the funeral card and after awhile, I realized that I liked the poem a great deal. Here it is...

 

For those of us who are Christians, we focus our thoughts on Jesus and what will happen in the next life. To me, there is no more appropriate passage to think of than the following...

John, Chapter 11 (WEB)

 ¹⁷ So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already.  ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away.  ¹⁹ Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.  ²⁰ Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house.  ²¹ Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.  ²² Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”  ²³ Jesus said to her,“Your brother will rise again.” 

  ²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 

  ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.   ²⁶ Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 

  ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.” 

Life beyond this life will be because of what Jesus did- rose from the dead. He is our hope of heaven and the only true source of peace. 

I knew Dorothy for 53 years and can honestly say that she was my friend. I have always wished the best for her- and still do!!!