By Life or By Death

I cried.

I received a message that another faithful giant of the faith won't be needing his body for much longer.

I was a freshman in college. While I was away that first year, my folks came to a saving knowledge of Christ. They found a small church in a nearby community where a wonderful man, his wife and three young boys were preaching the gospel. It is where I met my Savior, my husband, and lifelong friends.

Rob's family had been instrumental in the establishment of Hillside Church in the village of Armonk. They had been meeting in the basement of the pastor who had come to start the work. And one Sunday evening, as the few people who gathered each week worshiped, four young Norwegian men came to the house, asking if this was where they were worshiping the Lord. Boy, did every one's eyes light up.

They came, these Norwegians, by themselves but they represented families. Strong families, who were committed to the Lord, to church, to each other, to hard work, to honesty and integrity. They showed me what men can be and how they can serve the Lord without compromise. They were all builders and as their businesses grew, because of the quality of work and their dependability, they were all soon building multi million dollars houses in Westchester. But more importantly I saw them devote themselves to the church. They built Hillside Church. Saturdays were work days. They were the general contractors and the construction workers. Rob and his dad were the electricians, along with others who worked in the electrical industry. And their wives, all young mothers, taught Sunday School. There were individual grades, just like school, a vibrant high school Sunday School, and Rob's dad taught the adults, while my dad and the pastors wife taught the college and career group.

And now, along with my dad and Rob's dad, John will be leaving his battle scarred body for a better place. His daughter asked us to pray that John would die as well as he lived. And she hoped that his victory over death because of his trust in Christ would be a powerful testimony of what God can do when we give our lives to Him.

But I don't want to let him go. Those big strong Norwegian men, my heroes; not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. They imparted a strength to me. I remember our families standing together, worshiping, singing, praying, living, eating and playing, and working together. And they are all powerful memories of wonderful times together.

Death is an enemy, but a defeated one, and our tears will be wiped away someday. because, "what is mortal is about to be swallowed up not by death, but by life" 2 Corinthians 5:4

So I pray for him and for myself someday that:
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death". Philipians 1:20