Uncle Gene's Funeral

Uncle Gene

The Minister’s Manual for Funerals (F. The Lord Gives and Takes)

F. The Lord Gives and TakesText: Job 1:19–21Focus: Job 1:21The possibility exists for you to misunderstand me when I say that there is a rhythm to life. The misunderstanding may occur if you assume that I believe the world operates totally as a cycle. History is not cyclical but linear. Life is an unfolding saga that is moving into the future under the all-powerful eyes of God. History is being influenced by God; therefore, we are not victims of a repetitive cycle.Yet even a casual observation of life indicates that a certain rhythm prevails in our existence. This rhythm does not signify the absence of God but is an indication of God’s love as He provides predictability to life. Our gathering here today is a part of that rhythm.Our text refers to a man who knew well all aspects of life. He also knew that there was a rhythm to life that included good and bad, joy and laughter, life and death. In swift succession Job had lost his property and his children. Yet in the midst of his great loss, Job was able to rely on his faith in God and say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;/Blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21). There is a divine rhythm of give and take to life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. In this setting we would agree that all life is a gift of God. Our daily existence is a reminder of the gracious gifts of our loving God. Our own life as well as life all about us is not the evolvement of matter or a result of some cosmic accident. We are persons created in the image of God. We have purpose and design from the uncreated One. Job said, “The Lord gave.” What does He give? Obviously, this physical life we enjoy and yearn to maintain is a gift of God.God also adds quality to this physical life. Happiness is a gift from God. Even now you recall many hours of happiness with this our departed loved one and friend. Happiness does add a quality to life. Happiness makes everything better. God gave us happiness that we might be better people. Memories of happy events continue to warm us and motivate us.In this memorial service, there is another gift of God which we should not overlook. Saint Paul said, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15, KJV). That unspeakable gift is the salvation made possible through Christ Jesus. God’s gift of salvation through His Son as the Savior of the world is what makes life worthwhile. It is that which gives us such joy. The gift of salvation allows our setting today to become a type of celebration. Salvation is God’s gift to dry our tears, to lift the burden of death from our hearts, and to comfort all who mourn. Death would be an unbearable experience were it not for God’s gift. There is hope.We must come back to Job. He also said, “The Lord has taken away.” We have hardly listed all these gifts from God when we are reminded of this setting. God has taken away. There are many losses in life, but now comes the greatest loss. The Lord has taken a loved one, and death has invaded a family.A loved one has been taken. If we truly believe that He created life, we must confess that He has the right to do with life as He so chooses. Through this life of our friend He has shared a precious gift, and now He has called that life home.In the process of doing so, the appearance is that God has taken back His second gift: happiness. No one expects you to be happy when saying good-bye to someone who is very special. Because God has been with us in Christ, He knows the sorrow of losing a loved one.It is easy to be trapped and misled into believing that there is no happiness in death. We are primarily aware of tears and troubled hearts. We may even wonder if God has forgotten us. Then we remember His third gift which He has never recalled and suddenly everything begins to look different. As we remember the gift of salvation, hope shines through the gloom. Even though God has called home a life and tears are real, in Christ Jesus we have a salvation that is steadfast and sure. Overarching and undergirding our gathering here is the fact of salvation.If we see through the eyes of our faith, we can join Job and say, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” While the appearance is that physical life and happiness have been taken back, salvation through Christ Jesus has not been recalled. The Lord gives, but He does not take all His gifts back.We must remember that all of life is in the hands of God. Faith will overcome grief which flows from the rhythm of our days. Through strength from our faith we can say with Job, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.”Because we are human, we grieve here and now. May we show the confidence of our faith by our personal testimony as we say, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”Prayer: Lord, You have given, and now You have taken from us. Even in our grief and pain, we continue to call You “Blessed.” For giving us the life of this dear soul and the gift of many memories, we offer our thanks. Most of all, for the gift of eternal life which is never taken away, we offer our thanks. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Family and friends, if you could just give me a few moments and bear with me I would like to explain what the truth is behind this extreme moment in time for Job and actually for the family here today.

Today, we will look through the eyes of Job, he had no idea of the conversation between God and satan. All he knew that all of sudden that his lively-hood had been destroyed and then the most severe pain of all he lost his children. Today, we come not at the lost of a child, but a father, an grandpa, a brother, an uncle, and a dear friend! A loss however is a loss, a void in our lives. We along with Job are dealing with a loss.

Right out of the gate the action of renting his clothes and shaving his head, represents mourning, extreme emotion!

This might be somewhat childish and obvious, but one day as I was driving home from visiting with a family dealing with the loss of a loved one, I remembered what Tracey said about this person: “I am going to miss them!”

That means a lot when you say that you will miss a loved one! I believe all of us can say we are going to miss Uncle Gene!

Do you know what it means when you say that you are going to miss someone?

One: it means that you had to mean something to them for them to make such an impact that not having them around leaves a void!

Second: it also means that they meant so much to you that you made an impact on them.

It is very powerful, those words, do not use them lightly!

In those ancient days they used symbolism a lot but what it showed from Job that he was in mourning as we are today!

Now, to the meat, “the Lord gives...” I believe God is sovereign over all, I believe He gave us Uncle Gene as a gift!

You can tell sometimes, in the care that is given to a loved one by a loved one, just how much of a gift the one being cared for was!

I believe we saw this in how Stacy and the family cared for Uncle Gene in his last days!

I remember visiting Uncle Gene, just as he started down the road of sickness. I remember that visit because he talked of Aunt Sarah, he missed her so much!

I remember that big ole smile he would give, whenever we saw him!

I think of the way Stacy says “Daddy”, it just has a way of expressing that she is still “Daddy’s little girl”

Not sure if this is a good thing or not, but I remember how slow he ate, Aunt Sa would just leave him there eating. We were up in Wetumpka to be with Tony and Toni, and we were eating at Captain D’s and everybody but him and my Tracey was through eating, so we all just got up and left them 2 still eating!

There are numerous more stories to tell I am sure!

Not all of them were good, as his health declined I know that wasn’t easy for Stacy, Kayleigh, andX Scott. Scott and I talked often about how tough that man was! He would take every thing in stride and just get up and try to go again!

It is hard to find those kind of folks anymore!

The Lord has given us a precious gift in the life of Uncle Gene, one we can celebrate and cherish the moments we had with him!

The Lord has also given us Jesus Christ, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The Lord has now taken away! It is really hard to say that this is a gift as well, but it is! Unfortunately, life is not very kind to us as we age. The body starts to fail, it is just a fact of life, but the greatest gift that has been given for us, is Jesus Christ, Who has given us eternal life through His person and finished work!

We have a gift in Jesus Christ, that when this time comes we have a guarantee of everlasting life, we just pass from this life to the next!

As I was speaking earlier about Uncle Gene’s physical struggles, I pondered on those struggles and death, I thought of the verse in 2 Corinthians 5:1 “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

Uncle Gene is not having to worry about keeping his health up or having to go to that dialysis machine anymore, he is in a house not made with hands, on that is eternal in Heaven!