If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:3, NASB)
Don’t you just love people who smile all the time and care about others? Jim did this constantly, especially on a golf course. Let me tell you a story.
Jim was playing with my friend Wally Armstrong a few years ago, and Wally asked Jim to mark his ball on the first green for his impending chip shot.
Jim reached into his pocket but did not have a coin, so he did the next best thing. He took a Tums out of his pocket and marked his ball. Oh, the laughter that followed on that first green and for the next 17 holes, and still to this day.
Jim also faithfully sets his phone to sound an alarm at 3:16 every day to remind him to pray for his friends and family. I was playing with him one day, and his alarm sounded.
He shouted, “Huddle up. Lord Jesus, thank you for your provision today. Guide and direct us. We are grateful to be on Your Team, now and forever. Amen.”
Jim went Home to be with His Lord and Savior this past November. He had fallen a few days before God called him Home and was in a lot of pain.
His wife, Nancy, told us that he had spent 4 hours alone on their back patio, sitting in a chair. No water. No coffee. Just Jesus and himself. He came inside and told Nancy, “I have been talking with Jesus. He is getting me ready to come Home, and He is preparing the place now.”
A few days later, Jim left this earth to be with His Savior. He died at 3:15. His granddaughter said it well, “How perfect! Grandad died at 3:15 and said his prayers with Jesus at 3:16.” To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
“Present with the Lord.” Can you imagine? Hebrews 1:3 explains, “When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 8:1 continues, “Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.”
Jesus is seated, but Acts 7:55-56 tells us the rest of the story. The Jewish leaders are stoning Stephen, and he is near death. Stephen then looks up into the heavens, “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55)
Max Lucado says that Jesus stands when His saints come Home. He stands and applauds. He might say, “Well done, Jim. You fought the fight, finished the course, and kept the faith. I have laid up for you a crown of righteousness.” Jesus is getting us ready to meet Him face to face.
I watched Jim’s funeral service online. What a tribute from all his family. There were buckets of tears, some in sadness, but all in joy knowing he is finally Home and out of pain.
Nancy and Jim fell in love in the 8th grade and were married for 66 years. She said, “We grew up and grew old together. I can’t wait to spend eternity with him. He believed in us, so we believed in ourselves. His grave marker will simply read, ‘He cared.’”
I also eagerly anticipate my reunion with Jim. I am going to bring him some Tums. You just never know.
Prayer: We can only imagine what that glorious reunion will be like. Thank you, Jesus.