Carol Flint Funeral

Introduction

Nothing can prepare us for loss, even when we know that the loss is in fact coming. I had the privilege of getting to first meet Carol last year. She had a smile on her face each time that I saw her at church as she loved being around her church family. I didn’t get the chance to know Carol the nurse who worked at the Mayo Clinic. But I did get the chance to meet Carol the daughter of the One true King. Many of you can attest to this reality as she not only knew Jesus but loved Jesus. I remember talking with Robert on several occasions about Carol’s health and how she had endured so much in the last few years, and especially the last few months. Even knowing that today would come at some point, today is a hard day. It’s a day of emotion. It’s a day of remembering lessons, and love, and mourning the loss of a friend, spouse, mother, aunt, sister, church member. How do we process things on a day like today? Let’s start with God’s work in Carol’s life - Psalm 139 tells us that

Psalm 139:13–16 CSB

13 For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.

Carol was created by Jesus. Known by Jesus. Her days were written down by Jesus. Jesus had a plan for Carol… but do you know what Carol would want to be shared at this point? Just as Jesus had a plan for her, Jesus has a plan for you. In this life, we know that death is a reality that each one of us face. Today we all face this reality, not with our own death, but the death of a loved one. Each hour on our planet, 4,000 people die. 4,000 people created by God and made in His image. Known by God. Formed by God. What have you done with this reality? Some deny it as long as they can. But today we can’t deny it. We must ask ourselves, what is the reason that death exists?

Biblically, we know that the reason is because of sin. We see that sin leads to death. Because of our fore parents Adam and Eve, their sin has disastrous repercussions to this day and one of those is death. God made a promise that if they disobeyed, they would die. God keeps His Word. We see the reality of death all around us. We see both believers and nonbelievers face this common foe. Psalm 116 tells us that

Psalm 116:15 NASB95

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly ones.

We all face this enemy, but this is not an enemy that the Lord doesn’t care about. No. God loves His people. He cares for His people. We are precious in His sight. God doesn’t take the death of His people lightly and we must not either. We must ask the Lord to help us be prepared for this common enemy and to number our days and be wise with the time that we have. Carol had run the race. She had fought the good fight. She was prepared for this day because of the saving power and work of Jesus Christ in her life. She would be the first to tell you, as every born again believer would, that she was not a perfect person. She was a sinner. She wasn’t perfect, but she was given a perfect redemption through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. She had hope when thinking about this day because of Jesus Christ, her death defeating Savior. Hebrews speaks of this hope

Hebrews 6:19 CSB

19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.

This hope isn’t an anchor that drags us down - it is an anchor that lifts us up towards heaven - a heavenly anchor. This is the hope for all of God’s children today. Death is not the end. Death has been defeated by Jesus. There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. This gives each of us hope unlike anything else this world has to offer. No amount of money, time, health, possessions, or degrees can provide the living hope found through Jesus Christ. Carol had this hope. She knew this Jesus. She repented of her sins and placed her faith in Christ. On Friday night, Carol went to glory and she is worshiping her Creator, Savior, and Sustainer face to face! I believe that Carol would want each of us today to remember this reality. Yes, in this life the reality is that life leads to death. But as believers we know that all death can do is make our lives infinitely better as death is but a vehicle that brings us to the throne of Jesus where we join in the heavenly chorus, freed from pain, and most of all freed from the stain of sin.

Today Carol is more alive than she has ever been. Her death was but a comma, it was not a period. It was the end of one chapter and the beginning of another one. There’s a whole eternity awaiting us whenever we draw our final breath and this is the hope that should be firmly fixed in the minds of all of God’s people on a day like today. Yes, suffering is real. Yes, death is real. Yes, loss hurts. Yes, emotions are normal. But yes, Christ will hold us fast from this day until our last day. Yes, we will be with Him forevermore. This is our hope. This is our assurance. This is our confidence. It’s all because of Jesus.

See, God doesn’t abandon us. He isn’t unfaithful on a day like today. No, He continues to sustain, lead, and provide. One pastor was driving with his daughter to a funeral and they were stopped next to a semi-truck at a stop light. The nice warm sun was suddenly blocked by this truck’s shadow… the dad was trying to explain Psalm 23 to his daughter and it finally hit him. He asked his daughter, “Would you rather get hit by that semi-truck, or by its shadow?” The daughter, without hesitation, said, “It’s shadow!” Friends and family, Jesus Christ was hit by the semi-truck of sin and death so that you and I would only be impacted by its shadow. We suffer and we grieve in this life, especially with this loss, but we don’t grieve like those who have no hope! We have eternal hope because of what Jesus has already done.

What do we do from here?

We remember.

We laugh. We cry. We hug one another. We remember memories, lessons, love, and loss. We remember.

We resolve to make our time count.

We aren’t promised tomorrow. We don’t even know what will happen the rest of today. We do have right now. We must resolve to make our time count.

We rejoice in what we know.

God has a plan for each of us. He has numbered our days. We can rejoice in knowing that regardless of what happens in this life, because of Jesus, our eternal destination is secured. He held us yesterday, He still has us today, He will hold us fast tomorrow too. Carol is in glory because of Jesus. What about you? Have you responded to the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep?

There is hope in Jesus, even on a day like today. Through His substitutionary death in our place, even when facing the shadow of death, we can rejoice as we know that death has an expiration date. That all it can do is make our life better. Look to Jesus. Loss is real, but the hope found in Jesus is greater!