John 14: 1-6
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me
When I started my journey that eventually led me to Jesus there was one question I couldn't shake. What happens when we die? Here is my long story short. After concluding that the Bible was reliable and that Jesus was who he claimed to be, the logical conclusion was that only Jesus could know the answer for sure. Since the evidence supported that He indeed died and rose from the dead, no one would know better than Him. So, I put my trust in Him and what He had to say about life and death.
As a child I remember my mom talking to me about this specific verse and the hope it brought to her knowing that her Lord and Savior cared about her so much that He himself would prepare a place for her in his father’s house. All we had to do was trust in Him and live for Him. As I got older and more cynical, I forgot the peace Jesus brought to me growing up. I’m so grateful that when I was seeking after Him, He brought me in like the prodigal son and showed me His mercy, grace and love. And even more than that He put a calling on my life to tell others about his love for them. I got to tell my mom that I really had accepted Jesus for myself. She was always proud of me, but never in the way that she was when I told her I was going to pursue ministry. She looked at me in a way that was equally proud and relieved.
My Mom was always my number 1 fan no matter what I did. So, when she was diagnosed with cancer it absolutely shook my world, but it also brought us even more together. I prayed with her and took her to her chemo treatments and was just there for her through all the worst aspects of cancer. I never doubted that God was in this story. I watched as the chemo ate her away, losing her strength, her hair and her independence. Never once did I see her be upset with God. There were times when she got sick of fighting and just longed to be with God, but she never got bitter at God.
Eventually she beat cancer. God healed her.
However, the cancer took its toll on her though damaging her kidneys and making her weak. Only a little more than a year after beating cancer she passed away from a blood infection she couldn’t fight. As she lay in the hospital bed preparing to go with the Lord, my dad and I stood by her holding her hand. I looked at my dad and I told him about the Bible verse that Mom shared with me when I was a kid and about the hope it brought her for this exact moment. Then the Chaplain walked in and introduced himself as Reverend Samuel. What a gentle man of God. He asked if he could pray with us and read scripture with us in Moms final moments. We thanked him and said absolutely. Then he said “this is the hope we have in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior” then he began to read John 14:1-6. My dad looked at me wondering how this man knew Mom’s favorite verse, but the truth was that God was with us when we needed that comfort the most. My mom took her final breath after we finished reading. The last thing she heard in this world was these incredibly comforting words from our savior.
I miss my mom so much. Some days it just hurts physically how much I just want to call my mom and talk to her. I just want more time with her. All the things my boys will do, and she won't be there to see it. All the advice she won't be there to give me when I need it. I think of my dad and the lonely nights he will now have to face. There are so many things that break my heart about losing my mom, but none of those compares to the hope I have in Jesus Christ. It’s hard to feel sad knowing the peace and joy and rest my mom is having because of Jesus. So instead of feeling upset that the Lord took my mom away from me I rejoice that he took away her pain and healed her from all her afflictions, and most of all that he made a way for us to have eternal life with him. I didn't need to say goodbye to my mom, just see you later.
If you're going through a loss, I want you to know that Jesus knows exactly how you feel, and he offers true comfort through his own death and resurrection. It's totally normal to feel sad but just know that Jesus has the victory; he beat death and the grave Himself and that is why He is the way the truth and the life. God, I thank you for giving me the most wonderful woman to raise me. You gave me a mother who not only told me of Your love, but she showed me Your love by loving me the way You love me. She also taught me about Jesus taking away the sting of death through His sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
- Pastor Brenan Hindermann