We're back after a delay for a few weeks - and that occured with the passing of my grandmother Jackie Sipe, who we called Gigi. Her funeral was beautiful, and I was thankful to get to be a part of it. After the funeral, one of the women from the church told me something special after someone had expressed their sympathy for my loss. She said, "You know...nothing is lost if you know where it is." Well...I do know where she is, and all those in Christ do not grieve as others who have no hope. Jesus has won the victory over death, and through his resurrection we have great hope! To die is gain, because it means we get to go home, to our true eternal home, forever with the Lord.
#SetYourMindAbovePodcast
We're back after a delay for a few weeks - and that occured with the passing of my grandmother Jackie Sipe, who we called Gigi. Her funeral was beautiful, and I was thankful to get to be a part of it. After the funeral, one of the women from the church told me something special after someone had expressed their sympathy for my loss. She said, "You know...nothing is lost if you know where it is." Well...I do know where she is, and all those in Christ do not grieve as others who have no hope. Jesus has won the victory over death, and through his resurrection we have great hope! To die is gain, because it means we get to go home, to our true eternal home, forever with the Lord.
#SetYourMindAbovePodcast
What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day?
What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths?
Would you believe me?
Hi, I’m BJ Sipe – and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above Podcast.
I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father.
Thanks for tuning in!
Our last episode was the week before Thanksgiving, and it was my intention to drop an episode early that week, as well as of course the following week on last Thursday. However, we had a development occur in our family life that put the podcast and several other things on hold. The weekend leading up to Thanksgiving, my grandmother Jackie Sipe, who we all called Gigi, finally finished her 14 year battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia and passed away from this life. In her last few days and hours, she was surrounded by family who held her hand and loved her as they had done all along. Her last few years especially were incredibly difficult, and while certainly hearing the news that she had finally passed came with its own grief, I was beyond grateful that she was no longer suffering as she had been for years. We soon began planning when family could all come in and when the funeral should be, and we settled on this past Thursday (hence the delay of the podcast). I was greatly honored to be asked to preach her funeral service, and I’m thankful that by God’s grace I was able to make it through without choking up in front of everyone. Knowing what to say to someone who has had a death in the family occur can be difficult. As a result, one of the most common expressions that we will say is something to the effect of, “I’m sorry for your loss.” I believe this is very appropriate in the moment. It is brief, sincere, and expresses concern and care for those who are mourning. I heard it many times over the past few weeks, and I am so thankful for the care and concern offered to our family. That being said, I want to share an impactful sentiment that was expressed to me at the reception following the funeral service.
We were gathered together at the antique store in downtown Madison, IN that has been in our family for generations to share a meal together with family and friends following the funeral. As we started all funneling in, my Aunt Carlene got our attention and announced that one of Gigi’s requests was that “I’ll be Home for Christmas” be sung together as a family after her passing, and she invited everyone to join together as she started up the song. Well, I thought to myself, that’s one Christmas song ruined for me for a while. Thanks Gigi. After several hours of being together, folks started to make their way home and passing along their last comforting words to the family. We were getting ready to go ourselves, and so I went to the back of the store to grab a few things I had left back there. This is also where some wonderful members of the church had set up to cater our meal, and several were still back there on cleanup duty. I stopped to offer my gratitude for their service, and they began to offer their condolences to me, which in the process someone had used the expression, “I’m sorry for your loss.” After they had moved on, one of the women who was serving named Ruth came up and gave me a hug. She looked at me dead in the face and said, “Someone shared this with me one time, and I know you would benefit from hearing it too. Nothing is really lost if you know where it is.” She gave me a big smile as teared welled up in my eyes and we embraced once more. These were the most comforting words I had heard all day. She was so right. I knew exactly where Gigi was – she was really, truly home, in her eternal home for Christmas.
Paul would write in Philippians 1:21-23: “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—” For the Christian, death is not a loss. Certainly, it is difficult, and we do mourn, please do not misunderstand me. I am not dismissing our grief, and we are called to weep with those who weep. But even with that being said, it is still not truly a loss – especially for the one who has passed on. In fact, Paul calls it gain. It is gain because we finally receive our eternal reward and enter into our heavenly rest. All of the pain, suffering, strife, and sin we must bear with in the flesh is completely done away with. For the Christian, death is our ticket to our eternal Sabbath rest. We recognize this, we understand the great gain that death truly is for those who are in Christ…but, again, what about for us?
I am reminded of Paul’s words to the Thessalonian church in his first letter to them in chapter 4 and beginning in verse 13. He would write, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
Even for us, death is not a loss. Why? Because nothing is really lost if you know where it is. We do not grieve like the rest who have no hope. Even in our grief, we hold fast to the victory Jesus has given us over death through his resurrection! Jesus would say in John 14 that he was going to prepare a place for us, and here Paul tells us that one day Jesus is coming back to take all of us there who are waiting for him in faith. Paul told us that death for him meant going to be with the Lord. For those of us who have “lost” loved ones of faith, remember this. They aren’t lost – you know exactly where they are, and they are awaiting your own arrival at some point too. Death has no victory. It is Jesus who has overcome!
Thank you for tuning in for this week’s episode, and I invite you back each Thursday for a brand-new episode each week. If you haven’t already, be sure to find us on Facebook for future announcements or even some special video sessions. If you have benefited from this podcast, share it with someone else that you think would benefit from it also. Until next time, know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each & every day set our minds above.