Life at Last

Funeral Sermon

Ruth M Kopkau

May 21, 1916 to Feb 19, 2000

Text: For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” 1 Cor 15:22

Life at Last! That is rather a strange comment to make when someone has died. I mean, the evidence seems quite to the contrary, doesn’t it? Yet, there is real hope from the God who has said, “in Christ all will be made alive.” But even with the assurance of God’s promise we need help to understand what that means, especially when we face the reality of death.

“Why did she have to die?” I recall this simple question a child asked at the side of my mother’s casket. She had known my mother as a friendly old woman who loved to do favors for kids. Actually, she never had any children of her own, by natural birth, only by adoption. But she made all the kids of the neighborhood feel welcome and respected, as though each one was her very own. So, why did she have to die? Great question! And there is a great answer to it, “in Adam all die.”

Who is this Adam, and what is it about him that causes all people to die? Adam is the man God created to rule over all the plants and animals God had made. He, unlike any of us, was a perfect man. He had a perfect relationship to his creator. He understood the mind and heart of God. Nevertheless, Adam came to distrust the word God had given him, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Sure enough, like any of us might do, Adam listened to another word that was not God’s truth. God calls what Adam did sin, and according to His Word of Truth, he died. It is

His death was not immediate physical death, as we know it. However, his death was an immediate spiritual death that separated him from God, and put a wedge between himself, and every other creature God had made. “Okay, so what?” We might ask. Good question. The so what is this, “in Adam all die.” All are dead spiritually, and all will die physically. So, whether we are talking about my mother, or Ruth, or anyone else, this is why we all must die. God’s will and His Word are irrevocable.

Thank God, this is not His final Word. He also says, “in Christ all will be made alive.” This is where I would like to take up the subject of our departed sister in Christ, Ruth M. Kopkau. Ruth came to know the truth of her guilt before God and realized something had to be done about it. And something was done. At the age of fifteen, she was baptized into Christ. Now, that might not mean much except for God’s Word which carries this promise: “All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Dearly beloved of God, and redeemed by Him, that new life is Christ. Not, some imaginary entity who gives warm fuzzies, but the very eternal God, Himself. Thus there is, in spite of sin and death, Life at Last! That’s the promise Ruth received in her youth. That’s the promise she carried in her life, through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s the promise you and I have even today. What does it mean? It means, by an act of pure love and grace, we are declared right and holy by the righteous and holy God, Himself. It means, Life at Last!

I found it interesting listening to Ruth’s extended family speak of their remembrances of her. You recalled simple things about her personality that somehow made a difference to you and your life. You mentioned her sense of humor, her accepting non-judgmental nature, her friendship with Rosy, her love of fishing, her station by the door of the house at the lake, her interest in education, her quiet industriousness, her 31 years of service with the DNR. All of these things will bring you joy in your memory of her.

You also mentioned there might have been a stubborn streak that showed itself once in a while. You said there was a point at which she would speak her mind, and that was that. You also observed that she could be just a bit intimidating to people. Given more time, there might even be other things that could be said about her good, and her bad, qualities and relationships.

Regardless of all that, God wants to assure you, who today grieve the loss of a loved one, that there is hope regarding Ruth, and you, and me. That hope is found in none other than Jesus, the Christ of God and Savior of all mankind. You see, He alone has born the sins of all people. He alone has paid in full the ransom price to deliver us from death. He alone has defeated the one who seeks our eternal demise in hell. He alone has the power to raise us from death to life. He alone makes all of God’s promises Yes and Amen for each and every one of us.

How can we be sure? Only by the truth of God’s Word which says, “Since death came through a man, (Adam), the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man, (Christ Jesus). For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. … So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” No wonder the life-giving Word of truth says, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Him, Jesus Christ, whether we live or we die, we have Life at Last!

Dearly beloved of God, what good will any of this do you and me if we do not believe the one who says it, and deny the one who gives it? It will do no good whatsoever, because Scripture also says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” No body acts on what he or she does not believe. But God has acted through the person and work of Jesus Christ to forgive all sins and raise us from this death into Life at Last! Amen.