Stay in God's Grip!
  • Home
  • Todd's Blog
  • Remember Me When
  • Contact

 While in God's Grip!

When we die...

3/8/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
​"I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives believing in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
​~ John 11:25 - 26
​
Knowing that you are going to die changes you. It's the reality that we will all encounter one day. Every person I meet as a hospice chaplain knows that about themselves. It is something that we talk openly about, and rarely do we speak of it in terms that we often have used to describe it, "passing away," "going to be with Jesus," "going to heaven," or the infamous, "entering eternal rest." No, often what I hear is, "I am dying, I am going to die."

Even Jesus asks that a cup pass from him. Scripture struggles to identify the cup as death. While on the cross, as Jesus cries out words of abandonement, then comes "It is finished," Jesus does not declare that "I am dying."

Our own mortality involves the encounter with death, and the faith that eternity will step in and rescue us as we take our last breath. In our case, and as often shared in faith communities, our last breath in this life will be met by heaven as we take our next.

So often as I prepare to share the broken body of Christ and His blood poured out with others through the eucharist, I remind those present, "For as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we remember Christ's life, death, and resurrection, and that one day we shall see Him face to face."

It is a reality that our journey must encounter death. The valley of the shadow of death where we are taught that we should not be afraid, that truly frightens us, is where so many of my daily conversations find themselves.

I'd like to say that I have the perfect words to provide comfort during these conversations. There are times when I leave the bedside trying to convince myself that my own faith will sustain me when I enter that same valley.

It's as if Lent has been created as a time each year that passes in our life to prepare us for this very encounter. To recognize that chapters end, and eternity approaches. To be able to say, "It is well with my soul," and to know that the hands of God will still hold me as I let go.

Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2018
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Rev. G. Todd Williams lives in the Houston metro area and is a Hospice Chaplain at Essential Hospice, Webster, Texas, and is an ordained Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) pastor.

    He serves as the Stated Supply to Westminster Presbyterian Church, Galveston, Texas.

    His new book, "Remember Me When..." is available through Chalice Press.

    Archives

    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • Todd's Blog
  • Remember Me When
  • Contact