Clint Celebration of Life

I want to thank everybody for coming today to celebrate the time that we got to share with Clint here on this earth.

I was asked to share some words before we eat today and so I have just a few things to share as we remember the time that we got to spend with Clint

I want to share with you some words from scripture today that I pray might help us to reflect on life and time that we have here on this earth.

In the book of Ecclesiates 3:1-11 we read this.

Ecclesiastes 3:1–11 NLT

1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. 9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

As I read those verses I can’t help but think of the time that we had with our friend Clint.

I grew up hang around my cousin Clint and his brother and sister….

As I talk about the stories of the experiences that I have had with Clint and his family, I am sure that you can think of some memories as well.

And as we think about those times i think about what it said in that last verse of Ecclesiastes that we read

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT

11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

You see we are only given a certain amount of time hear on this earth.

Psalm 139:16 NLT

16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

Job 14:5 NLT

5 You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.

God has made everything beautiful for its own time.

In visiting with Clint these last few months we talked about the second part of that verse.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)

11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

When you are going through what Clint was going through these last few months you begin to think about eternity.

That question is in all of us because God has planted it there, some people try to ignore it, some try to appease it, some try to explain it away but when we are face to face with it like Clint was you are forced to deal with it.

And often times a funeral is the only time that many think about these things, and the response often times is I just hope that in the end my good outweighs the bad.

1 John 5:11–13 NLT

11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. 13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.

The apostle John says we can know where we are going for sure when our time is up on earth.

And it is not just about believing in God and going to church, it is about relationship, is Jesus your Lord and savior

James 2:19 NLT

19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

you see it is not about belief it is about relationship

The bible says in Romans 10:9-10

Romans 10:9–10 NLT

9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

When I visited with Clint at the Hospital in platte before he came back up to Sioux falls a few weeks back he had answered the Question about eternity, and he said he was ready to go if it was his time, he said he was still fighting but he was ready.

and in the end that is all that each of us can do is answer the question about eternity that God has placed in all of our hearts. Are we going to have eternal life with God by placing our faith in the work of Jesus on the cross.

or are we going to live eternally separated from our create because we do not up our faith in Jesus.

Matthew 10:32–33 NLT

32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

I’ve heard it said that the punctuation on the story of our life on earth doesn’t end with a period but a comma and the question is where will you be after the comma.

Today I celebrate the life of Clint because I know where he is, and I know that I will see him again because my hope as was his is in the work that Jesus did on the cross for ours sins.

So as we share stories of the time that we had with Clint today, let us remember that this life is not the end it is just the step we take before we enter into eternity.

lets pray.