We all want to know if we’ll see our loved ones again. We want to be assured that all those special moments & memories are more than just memories. We want to see them again.
Sadly, there are those who prey on that longing and our pain. The famed Houdini spent a great deal of time, money & effort in the last years of his life exposing charlatans & frauds who claimed to contact deceased loves ones…for a fee. He longed to see & connect with his deceased mother one more time. Those who sought to benefit from his pain infuriated him.
Monday a man, Grigory Grabovoy, was sentenced to 11 years at hard labor. His crime? For several years this con man has preyed upon the grief of people mourning family: 11 counts ranging from mothers mourning their murdered children to children mourning their deceased parents. Grigory offered to resurrect the loved ones…for a fee. Obviously no one was brought back to life, but he was brought to justice.
The death of friends & loved ones can rend our hearts. It may seem unbearable. The important thing to know is we don’t have to say ‘goodbye’ forever. As Billy Graham says, “heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.” God has been building the spectacular city of ‘New Jerusalem’ or heaven, for thousands of years. I have every confidence that it will be something beyond our wildest dreams. It will afford opulence that makes any earthly mansion or castle pale in comparison.
Far more important than the breath-taking beauty will be seeing loved ones & friends of old. Beyond that, we will see Jesus face to Face. Not some impersonal, deity or idol, but rather the Resurrected Lord.
John 11 records the story where Jesus was not present at one of His best friend’s sickness & subsequent death & funeral. While it grieved them at the pain & seeming uncaring absence of their friend, even more so was the knowledge that He somehow allowed this pain.
Jesus was about to prove His love & power for all time. An old black pastor once said, “Jesus broke up every funeral He ever attended!” Truth.
Billy Graham’s take is true, “heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.” As much as God is preparing heaven for all of us, He wants us to be preparing for His heaven. Make sure you are secure in your relationship to God. Make sure your family & friends know about Him also. No matter your hurt, He longs to bring healing & death to life. Unlike the con men of this world, He seeks no ‘fee’ just our faith.
Also Dave Jackson on facebook
Dave’s Desk –blogspot- http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com/
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org cell 870-217-9376
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