Faith: Death a reminder to show love, honor Christ

My wife, Peggy, and I attended a memorial service recently for the husband of a precious woman that we have known for many years. It was one of those unexpected deaths: he was too young (50) and too healthy (no known sicknesses or aliments). He had a heart attack and died. There is great comfort knowing that he had faith in Jesus Christ, so his new home is with God, but the pain and loss of his family and friends is very real.

Whenever the passing of a loved one comes near to our lives, we’re reminded of the certainty and the uncertainty. The certainty is that all of us will one day pass from this life (unless Jesus returns first, of course) and the uncertainty is, when. We don’t know “when,” but we can be very intentional about the “until then.”

In conversation following the service, one man told me that he was reminded how precious and how thankful he is for his family, and that he is going to make sure that each day, as he leaves his house for work, he is going to kiss his wife and tell her that he loves her. The little things matter.

A couple of things to think about for the days in which we live: love greatly; forgive quickly; give freely; serve openheartedly; honor Christ with the utmost boldness by the way you live (Philippians 1:20).

Louie Locke is the pastor of Fountainhead Foursquare Church, 3690 U.S. Highway 395, Carson City, www.ffcwired.org.