Shawn Keel Funeral

Introduction

There are a few rare occasions over the years in which a loss is so shocking, so sudden, and so confusing that the suffering and grief spreads to the whole community. Beginning with Shawn’s beloved family, our grief varies in its experience and its intensity. Each of you are here for two reasons. First, you are here because of much you loved Shawn and love Abbie, Caroline, Connor and the family. And, you’re here because this is not how it’s supposed to be. Young dads in the prime of their lives are not supposed to pass away so quickly. It’s a profound sense of tragedy.

So, Abbie and family, on one hand, we can’t begin to comprehend the intensity of grief and sense of loss that you know, and, on the other hand, we want you to know that we’re grieving with you and feel a deep sense of loss with you. And, there’s unique power — even comfort — when we grieve together.

God’s Word

The apostle Peter wrote letters to a community of Christians that was suffering together. The circumstances were different, but many of them were losing people they loved very suddenly and were constantly threatened to be killed themselves. So, it’s almost strange what Peter observes about them in the face of such pain.

1 Peter 1:8–9 ESV

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

They trusted in Jesus and even rejoiced in Jesus despite what they saw around them. And, what we see around us scary today. Abbie, I know the future looks now completely different than it did just a week ago. I can’t imagine how terrifying that must be. Many of you will carry forward with work and with a life that you assumed Shawn would be a part of, and now that all looks different, maybe even scary. All of us have been faced with the fragility of these bodies that we have. But, what I want us to see is that the realization of those early Christians is our hope today: There is greater reason to hope in whom you can’t see than there is to fear what you can see.

Maybe, in the midst of these tumultuous days, this is what you need to be reminded of. Maybe you’ve never understood it for yourself.

Why we trust whom we can’t see in spite of what we do see: (Headline)

Our “life” is “forever.”

1 Peter 1:3 (ESV) 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...

It appeared as though Jesus had made everything worse for these believers. Maybe it feels like that today for this family of faith. We are prone to see suffering like this and wonder how we can still stay Jesus is good. But, Peter flips perception on its head with reality. God changes our predicament — but for the better. Against a backdrop of repeated and ongoing tragic death, Peter says that we still have the ability to praise because we have been “born again.” That is, we were born once into a life that would end — as we’re all reminded of today, but, for those who are in Christ, we are “born again” into a life that is eternal and will never end. So, God interrupted your hopelessness; He didn’t introduce it (as the suffering seems to imply). Your first birth was into death. But, there has been a second birth into hope.

And, you are no more responsible for your second birth than you were your first birth. Our salvation is a miracle of mercy, not merit. “According to his great mercy, he has caused...” It’s “caused” by God’s mercy, not your morality. It’s “given” (alternate translation) to you, not earned by you. So, our eternal life isn’t as faltering and faint and unsure as we are. Because it was never caused by us or dependent upon us to begin with. It’s as steady and sure is Jesus is. This is the solid rock upon which Christians build their hope. We don’t have to fret and worry like everyone else because our hope is not dependent upon us. Our hope is traced to God’s mercy.

Abbie, today, life looks so fragile. Life looks so uncertain right now. But, Shawn was born a second time into a life that is forever. You have been, too. And, that life is as solid as Jesus. It’s certain, and it’s forever.

Our “hope” is “living”.

Our new birth lays two cornerstones for us so that we can build a life upon that won’t crash down in all the chaos. The first is “a living hope.”

1 Peter 1:3 (ESV)3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

I’m using the word hope a lot today. It’s because a lot you are looking for hope. You feel hopeless. What do we mean? The type of hope we’re talking about is not the type we’re used to talking about. We’re used to talking about hope as an aspirational desire for the future. “I hope I get a big, fat tax refund.” “I hope that my truck lasts another 100k miles.” That’s not what Christian hope looks like. We’re not aspirational about the future; we’re certain. Our hope has been verified. Jesus was raised from the dead. Death has been defeated. The earth is being renewed. The Kingdom is coming. Jesus is reigning and coming soon. That is, our hope is alive, and it will live as long as Jesus does.

And, Jesus’ resurrection is not just about one day; it’s about today. Your hope won’t spring to life some day; your hope is living right now. Jesus won’t be raised to from the dead one day to give us hope. He’s alive right now. Hundreds of people are documented witnesses. His apostles saw him after death and were willing to die because of how true it was. And, it’s the certain, living, verified hope of that reality that produces the energy and perseverance to make it through the loss of your husband or son or friend or business partner. Your future with Christ isn’t, “I hope so,” but “I know.”

The quality of your life is determined by the source of your hope. Living hope is meant to be contrasted with all of the dead hopes that are out there. Your morality. Your success. Your reputation. Your financial security. Your good health. Your children. All of these are dead hopes. They are uncertain. They’re vanity. They can abandon you in a second.

This is about vain aspiration versus substantiated hope. Christ has already risen. Christ’s future is already secure. He lives! So, we can face an uncertain tomorrow without your husband or your dad or your son without feeling insecure. We don’t have to say that today is good. It’s not. It’s devastating. But, today isn’t the loss of hope either. Your hope is alive.

Our “inheritance” is “secure”.

The second cornerstone that our new birth lays for us is a secure inheritance. Born again “TO a living hope” and “TO an inheritance that is imperishable.”

1 Peter 1:4 (ESV)4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you

Our hope is not in the type of flimsy inheritances we can receive on earth. Our heirlooms crumble, rust, and fade into dust. They can be lost, stolen, or misplaced. The inheritance for those in Christ isn’t like that at all. Our inheritance is not the dead leaving something to the living. The gospel is the dead receiving an inheritance from the Living. It’s not the dead leaving something for us; it’s the Living calling us into a share in his very life. It’s where the dead are given life. Our hope is as imperishable, undefiled, and unfading as the resurrected Christ. It won’t rust or fade. It can’t be lost or stolen.

Today, it feels like a lot has been lost. Perhaps, it even feels like it’s been stolen away. You pictured your future with Shawn in it. You pictured anniversaries with Shawn there. You pictured graduations and weddings with Shawn there. You pictured grandchildren with Shawn there. And, this loss is significant. It’s real and valid. But, it’s temporary. Shawn is already enjoying his inheritance, and someday you will enjoy yours, too. The sense of loss will be overwhelmed and displaced by the inheritance that is being saved for you.

Fill the security of this: Your inheritance is “kept” for you, and you’re “kept” for it. For He won’t keep your inheritance without keeping you, too. Jesus has prepared a place for you. You have a reservation in eternity, and it’s held by your resurrected King who sits at the right hand of the Father. And, he’s escorting you (“guarded” military term) to your mansion through these choppy water with his own resurrection power (v. 5).

Our “pain” is “momentary”.

And, that’s what makes this so relevant to us today. That’s what brings us to Peter’s point. Your pain loses in the end. The sting of death loses in the end. Hope wins. Your pain doesn’t lead to defeat; your pain leads to praise.

1 Peter 1:6–7 (ESV) 6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As Peter looked at this suffering church, his mind must’ve went back to where he saw this story before. He saw his hope appear to die on a bloody cross. He had turned away from Christ and abandoned all hope. But then, Sunday came and Jesus rose, and the cross turned out to be a testament to the genuineness of Jesus as the Savior. So, the cross became a source of praise. Pain had lost. Hope had won. The pain had only lasted for a little while, but Jesus’ glory was going to last forever.

If you love him and believe him though you do not see him, your pain will lose too. It feels like forever right now, but it’ll only be a memory then. One day, from the perspective of eternity you will look back over the devastation of today so that you can say with Paul: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.” There is far greater reason to hope in whom you can’t see than there is to fear what you can see.