Meditation for John VanderWoude Memorial Service

1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 NLT

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

Revelation 21:4 NLT

4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

John 5:24–25 NLT

24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. 25 “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.

Romans 14:7–9 NLT

7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

I first met John and Corrie 15 years ago to the month when I visited this church for a weekend of interviews and preaching. At that time I was still serving a congregation in Hamilton, Ontario, but was in conversation with this congregation about the possibility of serving here as Lead Pastor. John picked my wife, Kim, and I up from the airport and he and Corrie graciously welcomed us into their home on College Court for the weekend.

John was a very helpful host. He drove us around the area so we could get the lay of the land, he introduced us to a real estate agent so we could get some idea of housing options, and he did whatever he could to be helpful and answer any questions we might have.

Now there was one stop we made as he drove us around that weekend, that I hadn’t anticipated. I told you about the real estate agent we met, we visited Carver Christian High School, and of course John Knox, I mean those places you’d expect to see. But John wanted to take us to a place that we didn’t expect to be part of the tour, so to speak.... “Would you like to see our thrift store?”

Thrift Store? Now of course by that time in our conversation we had learned a few things about John. He had already showed us the locations of one of his old gas stations, he showed us some properties that he had owned, he told us about some of his past business ventures, and he told us about this marvellous ministry that he was volunteering for called Seeds of Hope, and he had helped them start and manage a rather lucrative little thrift store called OATS (Orphan Aid Thrift Store) and at one point he finally said, “would you like to see our thrift store?”

Of course we did. He told us about how much money it took in each month on average. With some frustration he told us how much rent they had to pay. “If only someone would buy the building and donate the space to us, we could send all that extra money to Seeds of Hope!” By that time I had learned John was a successful entrepreneur who was always looking for some way to make money…and this time it really was for a good cause.

So we made a stop at the Thrift Store… amazing how much stuff they pack into that small store, and a lot of really good stuff too. Of course we met some New West’rs for the first time… I think Frank and Annette Vink were there that day…now they’re with the Lord…and John with them… I’m sure they are going to have some good conversations!

A lovely little tour, met some beautiful people, and as we were about to leave …now if you know John you are very prepared for what I’m going to say next, John said....”are you sure you don’t want to buy something? It is for a good cause you know!”

Spoken like a true businessman.

Now if I were to say to you that at times John could be perceived as being a bit pushy, that would be no surprise to those of us who knew him. He like to lead things, like to control things, he often was quite sure he was right and that his way was probably the better way. Now entrepreneurs may need a little be of that in order to get things done, but those qualities weren’t always appreciated by folks. On occasion I bumped into some of that too but even through some of those bumps we always had a strong relationship.

On that weekend together with him and Corrie, I heard first hand about the Seeds of Hope ministry. As John and Corrie told us about their experiencing seeing part of this ministry up close in Zambia, it was clear they had been deeply impacted. For John this was a beautiful way to use his entrepreneurial skills of building an enterprise and raising as much money as possible to support orphan children. It was on that weekend that I caught a glimpse of John’s heart. I saw someone who genuinely wanted to put his faith into action and who had a lovely kingdom vision. That easily smoothed over some of the occasional bumps I encountered as we served together.

Romans 14:7 says we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. What Paul is saying here is that our lives are designed by God to serve others. We’re not to live for ourselves, as far too many are want to do. Jesus says, “I have not come to be served, but to serve and give my life.” Very early on I came to appreciate how much time and energy John gave towards that thrift store.... as he kept thinking about the many people who’s lives were being blessed.

We’ve heard it shared a number of times already how John’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ played a formative part in how he lived his life. He believed deeply that he was a child of God, a sinner in need of God’s grace, and he wanted to live a life of service to his church and beyond.

Again, back to Rom. 14 Paul says, “Whether we live or whether we die, we belong to the Lord.” In our society many of us are taught that we are our own master, that we are lord of our own life, and even if there is some belief in God, it is on our own terms and what can happen is we as it were make God in our own image.... God is moved to a more sideline position rather than a Lordship position.

And that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. The Bible teaches that all belong people to God, because He is the one that has made them. The Bible teaches that he created all people in his own image. In fact there is a kind of stamp--an imprint of God in all humanity—we all have some sense of the Divine.

It’s true, that can be hard for us to believe because in our world we see so much brokenness, so much hurt, so much hatred and violence all around us. The Bible teaches us that this is a result of sin entering into the good world that God has made. Sin and death entering into our world because humanity rejected God’s Lordship over their lives. They tried to be masters of their own life and left God out of the picture…they refused to listen to how he taught them to live, they rejected the relationship that He created them to experience.

And so from the beginning, God set into motion a plan to bring people back to him.

One of the last ministries that John gave strong leadership in before his dementia required him to step back, was our church’s ESL ministry. John worked with several volunteer teachers from our congregation and at one point we had roughly 30 people come each week for ESL. Not only was ESL a very practical help…which John loved…but it provided us with an opportunity to share something of the Gospel with people who may have never heard it before. And that was something John genuinely cared about…being part of something that God might use to lead people to Christ.

You see over many centuries God called people to life in relationship with Him; he made it possible for our sinfulness and our rejection of Him to be forgiven, he even took care of the ultimate consequence of sin, namely death. And that plan came into full expression in the person of Jesus Christ. There is a person who speaks to us in the face of death because He went through death and came back to tell us, “it’s ok. I’ve defeated death.” He alone can come to us in our grief and offer us hope. Jesus says to us what we read in John’s Gospel: John 5:24-25

John 5:24–25 (NLT)

24 “... those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

Elsewhere he says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)

You see we have not only come here this afternoon to remember and give thanks for the life of John, or to say goodbye to him. We have also come here to be comforted in our loss and to be given words of hope. When Jesus was on earth and his dear friend Lazarus died, he knew what it was to feel sorrow (John 11). Jesus was called a man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3). Yet through Jesus Christ, through his death on the cross, he willingly took on himself the punishment that we rightly deserved, and he offered hope to us beyond the grave (Romans 3:23; 5:8). Jesus Christ is able to bring us to God the Father. “I am the way, the truth and the life,” says Jesus, “no one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6)

“I have come into the world,” says Jesus, “so that you might have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Jesus Christ will take our grief our sorrow our questions our doubts...The Bible says that we should cast all our cares, all our anxieties, our burdens, and our fears onto Jesus Christ…because he will care for us (1 Peter 5:7).

Let us remember that all of us, whether it is in life or in death, belong to the Lord, because he made us.

“Come to me,” he says, “and I will give you rest”—”I am the resurrection and the life,” says Jesus. “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11: 25-26)

One time in Jesus’ ministry some of His disciples were tempted to give up faith in Jesus Christ. People were falling away. Jesus didn’t seem to have the answers they were looking for. He didn’t seem to offer the kind of hope that they thought they needed. And so Jesus asked a few of his disciples that were close to him, “You do not want to leave me too, do you?” This was Peter’s answer to Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6: 68-69)

That is precisely what John believed and knew, and his greatest joy would be that all of us would know that too.... that Jesus Christ is the One to whom we must go. He has the words of eternal life. He is the Holy One of God. He alone can comfort us in our grief and give us real hope for beyond death.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.