"Gone"

Now she’s gone, though lingered long,

A century on this earth,

Right to the end, the Lord her friend,

Can’t measure what that’s worth.

And so the loss, she slipped across,

The grief is real, you see,

But greater grace, as ends her race,

She starts eternity.

There in His arms, no more alarms,

Or threats from earthly woe,

All tears now dried, the grave defied,

As all believers know.

The sweetest peace, and cares release,

The Spirit comes right through,

To shine God’s light and make things right,

As only He can do.

We’ll miss her face, familiar place,

Where she has always been,

But know one day, we gladly say,

We’ll see her once again.

And though life brings death’s old sting,

The Lord with healing balm,

Relieves the pain in Jesus’ name,

Replacing stress with calm,

So praise to Jesus, know He sees us,

In every sad good-bye,

We’ll part no more on heaven’s shore,

Forever by and by.

(This poem dedicated to the memory of Don Hunton’s mother, who recently passed. R.I.P.)

“For Christ must reign until He humbles all His enemies beneath His feet. And the last enemy to be destoryed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26, NLT)

Death is one of the sad realities of this earthly life. Unless Christ returns in our lifetime we all must pass through death’s doorway. The Bible tells us that believers in Jesus Christ need not fear death because eternal life is secured by God’s grace. Such is our best reminder when a loved one dies. My friend, Don, had to say good-by to his mother this week. She turned 100 in May, and loved the Savior. So, there is no doubt she is in heaven, but still the loss is real. One day we will be done with such experiences, once and for all. Death itself will be destroyed by Jesus. Until then He reigns. Jesus is Lord.

Art by Don Weller, used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.