Rest and Resurrection

I am writing these words from our hotel room in Marathon, Florida.  By the time you read them I will be back home and following my normal schedule, but today my wife and I are preparing to head back toward home in the morning.  We will stop in Miami to watch a baseball game Friday night, and then will drive home Saturday.

            So far on this trip I have eaten way too much shrimp and key lime pie. I mean, while you are in Florida Keys, you have to eat shrimp and key lime pie, right?  We’ve also enjoyed grouper and stone crabs. But mostly we have enjoyed time away.

            Last week was a difficult one.  One of my very best friends in the world passed away at the age of 43.  He was a pastor, and father of five. And he was my prayer partner. It was my hardest funeral since my dad. 

            Having said that, I have to remind you of this. My friend died six days after Easter Sunday.  He was a strong man of faith.  And he would have reminded me, had he been able, that the resurrection of Christ made certain the resurrection of His children. And Clint was certainly a child of God. Not because of anything he had done, but because of the grace and mercy of God in the cross.

            Without that faith, last week would have been without hope. But because I know Christ is alive, I know that Clint is alive, and one day I will join them both in heaven, as will every person who has trusted in Christ for salvation and eternal life.

            I pray that you have this same kind of faith. I pray that you have the hope that is found in the resurrection.  Even a week and a half after Easter.