Conner Waller Funeral

It’s times like these that cause all of us to pause and ask, “God, where were YOU…and do you even care?”

And even though some of us know better, we doubt God in the midst of tough times even wondering, “Is He really who we thought he was or have we been misled?”

You see, many of us have placed promises on God’s lips that He never spoke, like:

Followers of Jesus shouldn’t face tough times.

Certainly, followers of Jesus - shouldn’t die young.

Because tough times and early death doesn’t seem to fit with the claim that God loves us and has wonderful plans for our lives.

So today, I want to spend a few minutes correcting those assumptions and I pray, encouraging you to MAKE today MATTER.

We aren’t the first ones to go through that and we certainly won’t be the last.

3000 years ago, a very real person living in a very real country 6000 miles removed from us, wondered if he had been misled too. At one point, John the Baptist was convinced that Jesus was God’s Messiah, the one John called “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. He even told some of his own disciples to go and follow Jesus.

But when tough times hit and John had been sitting in a prison cell, he wavered and wondered if he had misunderstood or been misled by Jesus. Oh, he heard about the incredible miracles Jesus was performing, but... in the middle of his struggle - John was questioning if he really rightly understood who Jesus was.

John even sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he had misunderstood with this question: “Are you the Messiah we’ve been waiting for, or should we expect someone else?” (paraphrase of Luke 7:19).

It’s interesting that John didn’t seem to be questioning that when he was free, but now that he was in prison…his soul was struggling.

After Conner’s transplant, as he began to eat everything he could get his hands on, as he began to get healthy, many of us were rightly thanking God and believing that Connor would live a long, full life. It was easy to trust God and thank Him then. But when Connor’s body began to reject the transplant, when he began to get sick again…well that’s likely what John the Baptist was feeling too.

We aren’t told from the text what John was thinking, but I bet you he had this thought more than once, “If Jesus knows what I’m going through, and if Jesus really loves me…then WHY won’t He come get me out of this mess? He’s caring for others and meeting their needs. What about me?”

If you know the rest of the story, then you know that John wasn’t released from prison to live a long, full life, but was killed at a fairly young age. WHY? Didn’t Jesus love him? YEP.

But John’s life....Connor’s life…and YOUR life will last a lot longer than this side of eternity.

Jesus makes this clear when He says something incredible about John, but also something incredible about some of US. Jesus said:

Luke 7:28 (NLT)

I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

What in the world is that about? John was the greatest spokesman for Jesus on the planet. Yet Jesus says that - as great as he was on Earth - that every follower of Jesus will be greater than that in the Eternal Kingdom of God.

And not long from that time, Another who was dearly loved by God the Father faced incredibly tough times and died young.

Jesus was arrested, tried, convicted, beaten, spit on, made fun of, scourged, and finally - crucified. His disciples, as John had done, suddenly found themselves wondering, “Is He really who we thought he was or have we been misled?”

But then the most wonderful thing occured. The One who they had trusted as the Savior of the world, the One who had been brutally killed and buried in a tomb - SHOWED UP. They saw the Risen Jesus…and THAT moment changed their lives forever.

Polarized Sun Glasses - these babies help me see below the surface. They help me stay excited about fishing, when it seems like there isn’t a fish in the ocean. When I don’t get to see what I want to see on this side of the water - GATOR TROUT on my hook....I am reminded that the fishing is still worth it because of what I get glimpses of with these glasses on.

So too, followers of Jesus those who remember that we serve a RISEN KING, see through different lenses. We know that there is LIFE on the other side that we can’t always see.

I’m convinced that Connor would tell you the same thing. He closed his eyes on Saturday morning to this side of eternity…and opened his eyes on the other side…greeted by our Risen King.

1 Thessalonians 4:15–18 NLT

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.

That is our great hope.

But for those who don’t follow Jesus there is a great warning. Our Risen King will judge you…not based on your good outweighing your bad...

Little boat, little boat.