Jump Start # 701

Revelation 14:13 “And I heard  a voice from Heaven, saying, ‘Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

Death is sad. The death of a dear friend, the death of a family member, the death of a righteous person. Death is different for a righteous person. The Christian views death differently. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, death is not the last word. Death doesn’t win. The journey doesn’t end at the cemetery. Hope belongs to those who love and walk with the Lord. Jesus was the first  to be raised to never die again. Everyone who was raised before that, the widow’s son, Jarius’ daughter, Lazarus—all of them died again. I can’t imagine  what that would be like. I’ve often wondered if Lazarus told Mary and Martha, why did you carry on so? Why was I brought back? I had made it. I was safe. But he was raised for the glory of God, only to die again.

Our passage reminds us several great truths concerning the death of the righteous.

First, Heaven considers the death of God’s people as “blessed.” It is a blessing. We often don’t see it that way. We may feel like we were cheated or robbed because their presence is missing. We need them and we want them, but they are gone. God sees it differently. Blessings are good things. Blessings are right. Changing our thinking about death helps us. Paul longed to be with the Lord. No more temptations. No more persecutions. Worries, fears, troubles, aches and pains all gone. No more crime to fear. No more doors to lock. No more medicine to take. No more bad news. No more belly aches, head aches or heart aches. What a blessing to be with the Lord.

Second, death from Heaven’s perspective is just the opposite of birth.  Birth brings us from the unseen world into this world and death takes us from this world to the unseen world. In many ways death and birth are very similar. We don’t spend the rest of our lives focused upon our birth. We live life. Death is just a doorway. I wonder if we spend too much time focused upon it, fearing it, dreading it, when all it is is a door that takes us to the next room in God’s house. It’s a room that we want to be in. We just have to go through the door to get there.

Third, there is a rest for the righteous. They are resting from their labors. What did they labor? Not secular work, but the spiritual work. That’s what God is concerned with. The work of saving souls. The work of building churches. The work of growing the kingdom. The work of teaching and standing for God’s word. This  is the labors that the rest comes from. Busy souls doing the work  of God will rest from their labors.

Fourth, the good deeds of the righteous  will follow them. What they did wasn’t in vain. What they did continued on after them. What they did continued to do good after they were gone. The example of godly people. The words of the righteous, written, recorded or just remembered, continue to impact another generation. Like planting a small tree, years later others benefit from that tree. The good you do makes a difference, first in your family and then beyond.

I stood the other day at the graves of several preachers. These were good men that did a ton of good in their days. I have read from their writings. I have books that they wrote. The good that they did continues. It was to me like the Hollywood walk of stars or Baseball’s Coopertown. There was the grave of John Smith, better known as “Raccoon” John Smith—a pioneer preacher who helped bridge two groups into one. Then there was the grave of J.W. McGarvey—scholar, professor, writer, college president, preacher. He tried to stop the tidal wave of progression in his day. His commentaries are still studied today. There was John T. Johnson—writer, preacher. Each good men. Each did what they could. Each planted a giant spiritual tree which is still blooming today.

Throughout this land are the graves of righteous people  – some famous, most unknown and forgotten to this generation. Today, we sing the songs that they wrote. We worship  in congregations that they established and held together. Today we enjoy the benefits of their hard work. Now it’s our time to plant spiritual trees. There those coming behind us that need what we can do. We may never know those who are  following, but they are coming. They need us to hold fast the faithful word. They need us to build powerful leaderships in congregations. They need us to develop men to preach. They need us to write, record and leave footprints that they can follow in.

Our work continues on. It is not time to rest, not yet. I am thankful to those before me who left a path so easily to follow. They have pointed the way to Jesus so clearly. I hope I can only do the same for those who follow.

Roger