Daily I scan the newspaper obituaries. No, I'm not looking for my name. I'm watching for people I might know, but also if anyone died who's connected to people in our congregation. I'm intrigued by the stories about the lives--even of total strangers. Of course, the younger they are the sadder they seem.
Death is the last enemy. So ruthless, it brazenly taunts those left behind. The closer the survivor was, the bigger the hole, the emptiness. If disease first systematically dismantled the body, survivors have an additional burden of exasperation, questions, anger. Believers who are dying or believers who weather their loved ones' dying, ache and weep like anyone else. But for those in Christ, "to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Our passion is that Christ be exalted in our bodies whether by life or by death (Philippians 1:20).
Mission accomplished for Zac Smith and his wife Mandy. Zac was 33 when Christ was exalted in his death last May. The young IT minister on staff at a South Carolina church filmed this video several months before he died. His wife made the second one since his death.
The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.
A Story | Tears of Hope from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.
Soli Deo gloria.
Last year, Mandy wrote on her husband's blog "Death cannot take away what is already His." It is amazing that prior to Zac's death, through the treatments, grief, and pain, God was already molding and teaching...as He always does.
ReplyDeleteWonderful testimonies. Thanks so much for sharing.
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