Obituaries

“About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword…” Acts 12:1-2

July 18, 2022

Perhaps it is a sign of the times, mine only, but as a teenager I really got into the comics section in the newspaper. Li’l Abner was one of my favorites. In these latter years I find myself going to the obituaries more often. The summation of stories of the lives of the deceased are revealing, both in what they say and don’t say. The day of writing this I read of a man who “was ushered into the presence of his Lord and Savior…” I hope that is true. The Bible is filled with obituaries. James, the first of the Twelve to be martyred is given a brief mention. He was not the half-brother of Jesus and the author of the book of James. Actually, we know very little about him. He crossed the “golden bridge” into the presence of Christ by being beheaded. Probably because he was charged with being disloyal to the government. He was known, as was his brother John, as one of the Sons of Thunder which would indicate that he was a man full of zeal, thunderous, passionate, and fervent. No doubt this, along with his boldness for the gospel, put him in the cross-hairs of Herod Agrippa who crafted an image of a Jewish, religious patriot. The death of James, a loyal servant of Christ, tells us that God in His sovereign wisdom determines the time and the means of the death of His saints. One thing to immediately note is that James’ death left a “servant-hole.” Why did God permit an effective witness to be taken away? That question must always be left in the hands of a wise and lovingly sovereign God. James died the way he asked to die (Matt. 20:23). He wanted to suffer as Jesus suffered. God takes those in death who belong to Jesus in many different ways. It may be from a sudden, violent head-on crash with a drunk driver. A cancerous tumor may spread its death cells throughout the body. It may be as my mentor and professor, Dr. John C. Whitcomb, crossed his bridge. It was as his son described, “who at 10:00 in the evening handed his son, Donald, the final chapter of his edited copy of his biography.” He told Don, “I am now finished,” and went to bed. It was “that night, he passed on to finally meet his Lord – February 5, 2020. He was 95 years old.” What will our obituary tell of us? As we live we are writing that story. H

A time to resolve: “I resolve to live in such a way that no matter how I cross the bridge into Christ’s presence, I will leave a story writ large of God’s grace to me in Jesus Christ.”