Dottie Jarrett Graveside

Intro

Today is a day for sharing memories and stories. We have to be honest though, days like today hurt. but they aren’t without hope. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? ...But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Even in (I’d say especially in) death, there is reason for hope…even in the pain.

For just a moment I’d like to take you to a place in Scripture where Jesus comforts his friends before his departure.

John 14:1–6 CSB

1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way to where I am going.” 5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Those words were originally spoken to people who were about to experience loss. Jesus knew their hearts would be troubled. He knew they would face grief, confusion, and separation.

And so He gave them something stronger than an explanation.

He gave them a promise.

He told them that there is a Father’s house. There is a place prepared for those who belong to Him. And most importantly, He promised, “I will take you to myself.”

That is the hope we hold onto today.

Our comfort is not merely that Dottie’s suffering is over, though we are thankful that it is.

Our comfort is not simply that she lived an incredible life, though she certainly did.

Our deepest comfort is not found in what Dottie accomplished, but in whom Dottie trusted: Jesus Christ—the One who said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.

The Christian hope is not ultimately about a place without pain. It is about being with Christ.

Jesus said, “So that where I am you may be also.”

That is what makes the promise of heaven so precious.

Today we leave Dottie’s body here, and that is difficult. There is a finality to a graveside that we feel deeply.

But for those who belong to Christ, the grave is not the end of the story.

The Christian hope is not only that we will be with Christ when we die, but that one day Christ will raise His people from the dead.

Jesus has gone before us.

Jesus has prepared the way.

And Jesus Himself is the way.

So as we leave this place, we do so grieving—but not without hope.

We entrust Dottie to the Savior she trusted, and we hold onto His promise:

“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”

And may that same Jesus give comfort, peace, and hope to each of us in the days ahead.