Comforting Words Concerning the Death of Dear Christian Friends

Mr. Bill, March 6, 1997: This past week two very dear Christian friends passed away; first Beth, and the next day Mel.

Beth, 49, had battled cancer for many years, and more then a few times she was at the brink of death and our gracious Lord spared her. Despite her poor health, her life was one of sacraficial giving for the good of others, especially young people. Even on her last sick bed her thoughts and concerns were for her dear husband, her two sons, her 17 foster sons, and many other young peoples whose lives she touched through her Spanish classes and her support of the home school basketball teams in our area. The love she had for her Lord and Saviour was apparent in all her endeavours.

Our friend Mel, 61, found out only last Fall that he had stomach cancer, and that of a nature that nothing medically could be done. He had served many years behind the scenes as a faithful Deacon in our church. He was also a good friend and brother in Christ. It was he and his wife's quiet labors that made possible the annual Teen retreats our church sponsered. Many young people have given testimony over the years how those Teen retreats have impacted their lives for good and pointed them to Christ. Having set his hand to the plow, our dear brother never looked back, but pressed on to the Celistial City. His love for Christ, and faith in Christ was firm to the end.

A day or two after these two dear friends passed away, I came across the following excerpt from the Evangelical Bishop's Expository Thoughts on Mark. I sat there in awe of the providence of a kind and gracious Lord that brought me to these comments at this juncture in my life.

These remarks are on the parable in Mark 4:26-29 about how the seed is cast upon the ground, how it grows, and eventually is harvested. The last point Ryle makes about this parable reads as follows:

We are taught, lastly, that as in the growth of corn, so in the work of grace, there is no harvest till the seed is ripe.

No farmer thinks of cutting his wheat when it is green. He waits till the sun, and rain, and heat, and cold, have done their appointed work, and the golden ears hang down. Then, and not till then, he puts in the sickle, and gathers the wheat into his barn.

God deals with His work of grace exactly in the same way. He never removes His people from this world till they are ripe and ready. He never takes them away till their work is done. They never die at the worng time. however mysterious their deaths appear sometimes to man. Josiah, and James the brother of John were both cut off in the midst of usefulness. Our own King Edward the Sixth was not allowed to reach man's estate. But we shall see in the resurrection morning that there was a needs-be. All was done well about their deaths, as well as about their births. The Great Husbandman never cuts His corn till it is ripe.

Let us leave the parable with this truth on our minds, and take comfort about the death of every believer. Let us rest satisfied, that there is no chance, no accident, no mistake about the decease of any of God's children. They are all "God's husbandry," and God knows best when they are ready for the harvest.