For Steve

07.19.15

Revelation 21.3-4 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (ESV)

Last night, after a long day in a booth in the park, I relaxed with my wife and the critters. The cat and the dog having felt they’d been abandoned were lying peacefully at our feet, and we were getting caught up on the events of the day: TV, Facebooking, etc.

Shortly after 10 pm, a friend of ours from Bend, Oregon, posted a picture to Facebook: Alive Loved Satisfied on her page. I didn’t think much about it other than, Oh, that’s a nice picture. There was an accompanying picture of she and her husband which had been taken a few years back. They looked normal and happy and healthy. He had ALS but I’m not sure they knew it then. Well, they did come to know it, and this morning, my wife informed me, he died yesterday.

I felt strange for a moment because in the night I had a dream about him. He was when I saw him last, a tall fellow although the ravages of ALS were beginning to take their toll; he’d lost weight. But in my dream, we embraced, and he was as I remember him from a decade or so ago: tall, muscular, and strong. He smiled at me in the dream, drew me in for a brotherly hug, and I wept. I just didn’t know what to say.

I think the dream was some sort of goodbye. It was brief. He was smiling strongly and I was weeping. And this morning I realized it was some kind of spiritual encounter. Not something to make a theology from, but certainly an encounter of my friend – not the way he looked at his passing but how he looked from my memories: strong, happy, confident.

Alive, Loved, Satisfied. What words. What truth. What reality! My friend is in the presence of Jesus today. It’s not today for him, but it is for me. For him it is eternity of Presence and Peace and the adventure is just beginning. One day, I’ll join him and a host of other who’ve gone before and we will all know this reality: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 

To my friend I’ll say this: I will miss you but only for a moment. You fought the good fight, you won the race and you kept the faith; and now you are Alive, Loved, and tearlessly, Satisfied. I look forward to when we reunite in His presence: Alive, Loved, and Satisfied. Amen.