Appendix 1
Greetings! I’ll admit, I don’t usually write to folks, but I wanted to encourage you with some of the things that we have found to be encouraging; things that we hold on to, since the death of Jon. It was just Mother’s Day, and there will be Father’s Day, and Christmas, and Thanksgiving, and on and on… As Tom recently said to us, “Not a day goes by that we don’t miss him…”
But as Paul reminded the Thessalonians, “we do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope…” All of their lives here with us we taught our boys about that hope… you are faithful parents who well prepared Kevin for all that life brings.
Psalm 78:2-4 “We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.”
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words that I give you today. Repeat them to your children.”
Deuteronomy 11:19 “Teach God’s truths to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”
And faithfully, you did just that, from his baptism, schooling, church… really everything, I was always impressed by your hands on parenting, preparing Kevin for the future that God has planned for him. And in turn, Kevin was always a faithful friend to Jon. You may not have known, but ever since Jon’s death Ian has a yearly bonfire and Kevin would always be here along with Mark and the rest, honoring, remembering, and sharing a little whiskey in the cold night.
And as Peter taught, our boys were/are “Kept by God’s power.”
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are kept by God’s power…”
Kept is really the whole story of our lives. God counted Kevin and Jon and Rob as a treasure worth keeping, through all of this life and death and heaven and into the New Heaven and Earth to come.
As the old hymn says:
- What from Christ the soul can sever, Bound by everlasting bands?
- Once in Him, in Him forever,Thus the eternal covenant stands.
- None shall pluck thee, none shall pluck thee, From the Savior’s mighty hands!
Sadness, yes, grief, yes, sorrow, but in spite of it all, hope, firm assurance in the “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” They are “Kept by the power of God” and have received “this inheritance.”
And not only that, as if that were not enough, but each Sunday I am always reminded of Hebrews 12…
“… you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect…”
Did you catch that? As believers, when we come to worship God we are joining with untold numbers of angels, and all of those “whose names are written in heaven; the spirits of the righteous made perfect.”
We can’t see them, but in a very real sense, in reality, in worship, we stand together before God with all of the Saints who have gone home before us. Amazing! Together in the Spirit, before the throne of God. May God bless you and may you know his presence as he keeps you by his power….
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