Christmas for many is a time of hope, joy, peace, and love
in celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace. It is a time when Christians affirm their faith
by considering again the humble advent of Jesus Christ whose virgin birth and
sinless life enabled Him to become the perfect sacrifice for sin by taking the
sinners’ place on Calvary’s cross.
Christmas is also a time when many of us seek personal
enjoyment on a “holiday” (holy day) through festivities and traditions. But, sometimes we inadvertently leave no room
for the lowly Jesus. Still others may celebrate
heartily while deliberately dismissing both the message and the gift of Eternal
Life through the babe who came to restore fellowship between mankind and God
(John 3:16).
Many who have experienced the joy of Christmas and the gift
of Life have also encountered some of the most disturbing and depressing experiences
during in the Christmas season. What
could be more disturbing and saddening at Christmas than the death of a beloved
friend, spouse, child, or parent? This
is certainly not the kind of Christmas we anticipate. But nevertheless, death can rear its ugly head.
Instead of excitedly counting the days
until Christmas, the clock stops and we are frozen in silent awe while
questions flood our minds. Has this really happened to us? Why did he or she have to die? What should
we do? To whom can we turn? Who will understand and help us? Does God even see our plight? Does He even care?
Perhaps some of these questions have occurred to our friends,
Gary and Julie Olin, in recent days. As
a former teacher, and then, a software specialist at Cedarville University,
Gary’s life has influenced many over the years including the lives of my wife,
Abby, and I. In his “retirement” Gary
was training to become a nurse. But Gary
has also been battling cancer in the past couple of years. Only God knows all the ways in which he has
reacted emotionally and spiritually to this great trial, but his testimony
toward us has been a great encouragement.
He has faced the up’s and down’s of chemotherapy, a period of remission,
and then the return of the cancer this summer with optimism, courage, and a
vibrant testimony of faith and hope in God.
Gary and Julie have also been a loving and godly example for their children
and grandchildren. As brother and sister
in Christ, they have embodied the Holy Spirit’s calling to believers to
not merely look out for your own personal
interests but also the interests of others (Philippians 2: 4).
On December 2, Gary Olin (1947-2011) went to be with the
Lord; and today, his body was laid to rest.
Our thoughts and prayers have now turned to Julie, to their son Nathan
and his family; and to their daughter Erika and her family. The death of Gary has bought separation from
a husband, father, and grandfather; and the sting of death that will cloud their
Christmas. We pray that the God of all
comfort will comfort each of them.
Thankfully, God can be our comfort in death for the very
reason that Christ came at Christmas. It
is because of His coming,
birth, and death on the cross that we can have “Christmas comfort.” The Messiah came to confront and defeat sin
and death, the great enemies of mankind since the first temptation and Fall in
the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). In fact,
sin and death surrounded the conception and birth of Jesus as if to defeat and
destroy the Deliverer. Recall the disbelief that Mary was pregnant by the Holy
Spirit before she married Joseph. Her
assumed fornication would have led to her death and that of the unborn Jesus by
stoning were it not for God’s protection through faithful Joseph. In addition, Herod’s soldiers would have
brought death to the infant Jesus soon after his birth were it not for the
angel’s warning to Joseph who led his family to safety in Egypt. The
Gospel of Matthew records that Jesus, …remained
there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the
Lord through the prophet: "OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON" (Matt.
2:15).
Although the first Christmas was clouded in darkness and
death, the Apostle John writes in John 1,
The Light shines in
the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (v. 5). He [Jesus] came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave
the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name… (v.
11-12).
As children of God by faith in the resurrection victory of
Christ over sin and death, we need not fear death or how and when we will die…for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are
of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be
at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:7-8).
Therefore, when death rears its head, even in the Christmas
season, we have reason to stand firm in our faith. There is a time for being alone; time to pour
out our grief to our Heavenly Father.
But there is also a time for being with family and friends as the Olin’s
have done. The gathering which we call a
“viewing” and a subsequent memorial service allows us to face the reality of
death and then to literally look into the faces of the grieving and their
comforters with eyes of faith, faces of hope, and words of encouragement. Thus, we do not forsake our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging
one another; and all the more as
you see the day drawing near (Hebrews 10:25).
Perhaps it could be said that death is like a wind blowing
against glowing embers remaining from a fire; it can extinguish the weak, but will
kindle the strong. The life that has
been fed (“fueled”) by the disciplines of Scripture reading, study, memorization,
and application with the aim of running
the race with our eyes upon Jesus (Hebrews 12: 1-3) can be ready to face
the sting of death. Not that we sail
through the trial untouched by the deep sadness…but we draw upon the deep
assurance of God’s love through an ongoing, disciplined walk with Him.
We grieve when death takes our loved ones, but not as those who have no hope (1
Thessalonians 4:13). Indeed, we are looking for the blessed hope and the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus…(Titus
2:13). As C.S. Lewis so eloquently
writes,
At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side
of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not
make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all
the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not
always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in. From:
“The Weight of Glory”, p. 43 (Harper, San Francisco).
All of this because God sent His Son, born of a humble
Jewish girl in a lowly stable in the shadow of death on that first
Christmas. Because of His supernatural
conception, sinless life, and resurrection from the dead, believers can
exclaim,
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:54b-55)
Having set these priorities, we are now learning the
truth of 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Faithful
is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. For example, only 16 days after the beginning
of John’s retirement, or better, redirection, in August, one of our parents, Abby’s mother
Marietta Moser, suffered a stroke that left her unable to use her left
side. Since then, we have been working
as partners committed to assisting Abby’s six sisters in a rotation that
has allowed us to be with "Mom Moser" in her recovery 24/7, first at Mercy Medical
Center in Canton, then at Carroll Health Center in Carrollton, and now at her
home in Kilgore. Though it is challenging,
we count it a privilege to serve “mom” and to encourage her in her faith at
this time of need.
