Funeral Service for Bob White

Bob

I first met Bob in the early years of my time here at Tanilba Bay Baptist. If my memory serves me correctly, I still remember the first encounter. Perhaps Coralie and correct my memory, but Bob and Coralie dropped into one of our gigantic garage sales we used hold here at the church. I believe they hadn’t actually moved here yet, but they I think they must have said they were about to move, because they said that once they moved they would come along to our church. I didn’t hear from them again for what felt like quite a decent amount of time, but sure enough, one day they arrived at our church, and they just fit in really well.

Bob became involved in quite a few different areas of the church, which I think I often forgot that I had been told that Bob had previously had quite a bit of reservation about Christianity.

You see, here’s the thing. As I got to know Bob better over the years, I learnt that Bob struggled to grasp the goodness of God. And this had a lot to do with the way Bob viewed the world.

You see, Bob was a very rational man. He would see things for what they were, and his assessment of any situation was pretty direct.

Bob would look around the world, and he would see injustice. He would see things in the world that quite frankly, were just not fair.

And you know what, Bob was not wrong in his assessment of the world. There is injustice. There is a lack of fairness.

Suffering recognised

And the Bible is not ignorant of this fact. The words that Kerry read for us earlier alluded to some of this injustice and lack of fairness.

The opening verse Kerry spoke of our present sufferings. Paul was writing this letter at a time when the Roman rulers treated Christians in terrible ways.

We then skipped over quite a few verses, but had we continued, we would have read about a creation that was subject to frustration. It even talks about what happens in our weakness.

This suffering is real, and Bob was right to be alarmed by it.

But here’s the thing. For the vast majority of the time that I knew Bob, he failed to acknowledge another side to this.

You see, in the words Kerry read from Romans 8, we see that there is a flip side to the troubles and hardships that we face.

And the first verse Kerry read brings it to life for us. You see, it alluded to our sufferings, but what it actually said, was that it was not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

You see, here’s the thing. We can make all sorts of arguments about why God allows suffering. We can talk about what God is doing through that suffering. And believe me, I actually had those conversations with Bob. But when we put into focus the future glory that comes with being with God, I can tell you that it’s no comparison.

The bad things of this world, they will pale into insignificance. Part of the reason it can be such a struggle to see this is that it is hard to comprehend how amazing this future glory truly is.

The change

Now I said this Bob failed to see this for most of the time that I knew him.

You see, I want to speak of a time only about two weeks ago, when Bob lay in the ICU at John Hunter Hospital.

By this stage, Bob had already been in this intensive care unit for weeks and it was starting to become clear that things were not getting better.

In the weeks leading up to this time I speak of, his wife, Coralie had been having quite frank conversations with Bob. They weren’t exactly new ideas Coralie was giving to him. You see, as most of you will be very much aware, Coralie has a strong faith in the Lord. She knows of this hope that comes with knowing God. And she spoke these words of life into Bob.

And in these conversations, it would seem that Bob’s heart was beginning to soften. I made an offer to come and see Bob, and while Bob welcomed this visit.

And so on the 15th May, just two weeks ago, I made a visit. By this time, Bob’s deterioration was at the point that he wasn’t able to speak. But he was certainly conscious and aware of my visit.

And so I invited him to pray a prayer of repentance and inviting Jesus into his heart. At the end of the prayer, Bob squeezed Coralie’s hand indicating that he had said this in his heart.

Now, obviously, I was not able to have a detailed conversation with Bob at this point, but I honestly believe that at this point, with his body failing around him, that there is a glory to be found such that this present suffering will be of no comparison.

I believe he was able to see the truth of the second verse Kerry read out, that is Romans 8:28 which says: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him”. I could spend some time unpacking that, but at it’s simplist, it tells us that even in our struggles, God is working towards something good. I think Bob knew that something good, because for him at that point, it was almost right before him.

Waiting till death bed

Now, we could think - maybe Bob was onto something by waiting till he was on his death bed. Of course, we don’t know if we will be afforded an opportunity to have such a final act of repentance.

But I want to suggest that there is even a better reason that we shouldn’t wait till our death bed to make such a decision.

And it’s got everything to do with the love of God!

God’s love

You see, God’s love for us doesn’t start in the age to come. God’s love for us is now.

God’s love was demonstrated in this - that while we were still sinner, Christ died for us.

When everything in the world is against us, what we find, is a God that loves us. And this love is the most incredible thing. It surrounds us. It lifts us up, even when we’re the ones whose made the massive mess.

Now perhaps those words might sound very wishy washy. But if you have the chance to experience that love then you will realise that this idea of love surrounding you is actually something very real.

And this is the reason why making a decision for Christ is the best decision you will ever make.

No separation

But what’s more, once you experience this saving love of God, you will never be separated from it - and that’s exactly what the last few verses said of what was read earlier.

In the passage, the rhetorical question was asked: “who shall separate us from the love of Christ? He then goes on to suggest any number of thing such as trouble and hardship, things that might ordinarily cause breaks in relationships.

But concludes that actually nothing can separate you from that love.

Because God’s love is that great.

Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers.

Absolutely nothing at all is able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I believe that Bob finally experienced that love. He held off for a long time, but as his time drew near, it seems that he finally understood.

Conclusion

And you can experience that love. You can know that death can have no power over you, because the love of God is far greater than that. Jesus has conquered death, and so we can stand confidently with God.

Death is always a sad thing. It’s sad because in this age we no longer are able to be with the person we love. But yet, because of what Jesus has done, our perspective of death changes. The sadness may remain - but something good is coming from it - and it’s all because God love us.

Let me pray...

Lord Jesus,

At times we can very much identify with Bob as we wonder where you are when we look at the injustice that is evident in this world. But yet, as we set our eyes on you, the sustainer of all things, we begin to see the glory that you are bringing. We begin to see that in the midst of a mess, you are making something new.

And so we thank you for the hope that we can find in you. We thank you that in you, we find a love that can surround us, even when we are overwhelmed with grief.

We thank you that we can know that absolutely nothing can separate us from this love. No amount of trouble or hardship. Not even persecution or famine.

Because your love is the greatest thing this world can ever know.

And so we ask in this time of our grief, that we can know this love anew. For those who have never experienced it, may you open their eyes. And for those who have felt distant from you, may you draw them close once again.

You are a loving God, and you are forever to be praised.

We pray in the name of Jesus our Lord,

Amen