Sliding Into Home

Last year, 2019, (actually, the last 4 or 5 years) in terms of sickness and death, has been pretty hard on my family, extended family, and close friends. Maybe it’s because of those circumstances, or maybe it’s just the fact that I am getting older, but it has sure gotten me thinking about eternity and my own mortality. I heard an illustration recently that related death to a child falling asleep in her car seat. She falls asleep and her Daddy picks her up in his arms and carries her into the house. He puts her in her bed and tucks her in. She went to sleep in once place but when she woke up she was safe and warm at home. What a sweet way of thinking for the Believer. The Word says that God cares about the details of our lives. And it says in Psalm 116:15 that the death of His saints is precious to Him.  Not just my life, but even my death, your death, matters to Him, y’all.

I read something the other day that said, “When I die, don’t make up lies about me. My smile does not light up a room and everybody doesn’t love me…” it went on to make some pithy remark about the reality of the writer having a smart mouth and being somewhat cynical. I laughed, but it made me wonder what people WILL say when I die. I had to laugh at some of the things that popped into my head. (I have a sort of twisted and cynical sense of humor, I admit. And BTW, even though I plan on living to a ripe old age, I want y’all who DO attend my funeral to share memories and tell stories that make you laugh. …Okay, MOST of you. Some of you have stories that should NOT be told – you know who you are! LOL!)

Then I wondered about what my God will say when I get to heaven. (Because, after all, that’s the REAL question.) I thought of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25: 14-28 my NIV Bible says ‘Parable of the Bags of Gold.’) I would like to hear my Creator say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” And I would like to hear, “You did well with what I gave you. You used up ALL of your talents, gifts, time, and life on the tasks I entrusted to you. You didn’t waste it, you used every last drop. You didn’t squirrel away, hide, or bury anything. And you have used it to multiply and make immense gains for my kingdom.”

So then I thought, “What would that look like?” If I arrived in heaven having given EVERYTHING God entrusted to me to invest in His kingdom, what would that look like? Y’all, the images that came to my mind had me bent over laughing. You know Elijah went to heaven in a chariot – I had a mental image of my chariot screeching into paradise on two wheels with the horses all wide-eyed, nostrils flaring, wondering “WHO LET HER DRIVE?!” Or maybe I would run the race to heaven – I could be sliding into the gates of my heavenly home like a major league ballplayer stealing home base. My tennis shoes would have the rubber soles worn off the bottoms like a first grader’s pencil eraser. My shirt would be wrinkled and half untucked. My nails would be broken and my polish chipped. I would be out of breath and my hair and makeup would look like I ran through a hurricane to get there – lipstick on my teeth and smeared on the sides of my face; mascara and eyeliner down my cheeks.

“WOOOOOOO! I’m here Lord! What a wild ride! Talk about an abundant and FULL life! Whatever you gave me, I used it. I haven’t got one drop left. I gave it ALLLLL!”

Yes, that’s what I want. I want to be like the servant who wisely invested EVERYTHING he was given and got BIG returns for the Master. I want to devote IT ALL into the kingdom, in whatever capacity He gives me to do it.

There is a quote by Tony Evans that I think sums it up for a Believer: “Have a good time at my funeral because I am not going to be there.” So when I die and I am lying in the casket wearing my Sunday best with my hair fixed, my makeup all nice, with a fresh manicure and hands folded peacefully – just laugh. You have my permission. Laugh because you know that is only the picture of my natural body. Then close your eyes and imagine my spirit sliding into my eternal home with a WHOOP and a HOLLAR knowing that I ran my race and gave all I had to give. I hope my Abba Father is standing there with His arms open wide, laughing, and saying, “Welcome Home Daughter! That was an awesome race!”

When your heavenly homecoming happens, what will it look like?  What will God say about you?

(I added several translations of the same passages here for the sake of a broader understanding.)

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

NIV      When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Passion Bible     And when that which is mortal puts on immortality, and what now decays is exchanged for what will never decay, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says:
Death is swallowed up by a triumphant victory! So death, tell me, where is your victory?
Tell me death, where is your sting?  It is sin that gives death its sting and the law that gives sin its power. But we thank God for giving us the victory as conquerors through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.

Psalm 115:16 
NIV      Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.
NET Bible      The LORD values the lives of his faithful followers.
Good News Translation      How painful it is to the LORD when one of his people dies!
Contemporary English Version      You are deeply concerned when one of your loyal people faces death.
The Passion Bible      When one of God’s holy lovers dies, it is costly to the Lord, touching his heart.

Benjamin Franklin wrote this epitaph when he was 23:
The Body of Benjamin Franklin
Printer;
Like the cover of an old book,
Its content torn out,
And stripped of its lettering and gilding, 
Lies here, food for worms.
But the work shall not be wholly lost:
For it will, as he believed, appear once more,
In a new and more elegant edition,
Revised and corrected
By the Author

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