{"id":11883,"date":"2022-09-26T14:44:14","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T14:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/?p=11883"},"modified":"2022-09-27T07:57:04","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T07:57:04","slug":"its-not-about-me-it-is-about-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/its-not-about-me-it-is-about-him\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Not About Me \u2013 It is About Him!"},"content":{"rendered":"

26 September 2022 | St Albans, UK [David Neal]<\/p>\n

It was earlier this summer in June when a pastor made a visit to an elderly parishioner in his care. This was not his first visit, but on this occasion, he could not help but notice her increasing frailty. As they talked together, no doubt over a cup of tea, he found her in good cheer and noted her \u201cpiercingly blue eyes twinkling, that extraordinary smile and the relishing of a quick dry comment.\u201d (1) \u00a0But as a pastor his was not a social visit, but a spiritual one. He was there to review the details of her funeral.<\/p>\n

In many ways this funeral would be unlike any other. It would take place in a large 800-year-old church. Her extended family would be surrounded and supported by members of twenty-three foreign royal families, emperors and kings, presidents, and prime-ministers \u2013 and leaders representing two hundred countries and territories. In front of the great and the good from every nation, with leaders of world faiths, Bah\u00e1\u02bc\u00ed, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim, in addition to Christian leaders in attendance. Thousands would stand outside the church, hundreds of thousands more would line the streets of the city, and millions more would watch globally.<\/p>\n

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It was a reality his parishioner was aware of. Her funeral was to be a witness to the world, and she was determined to ensure that no one, of all faiths and none, king, or commoner, would lose sight of the One for whom this worship service was intended \u2013 the Lord himself.<\/em><\/p>\n

As they talked together, they reviewed the three familiar hymns to be sung; \u2018The day though gavest, Lord, is ended;<\/em>\u2019 \u2018The Lord\u2019s my shepherd<\/em>;\u2019 and \u2018Love divine, all loves excelling<\/em>.\u2019 Each with lyrics expressing her humanity, the temporary nature of this life, how even \u2018earth\u2019s proud empires, pass away\u2019, and how with a sense of thankfulness she could testify to God\u2019s, \u2018goodness and mercy\u2019 throughout her life, hoping in her physical frailty that she would be one day be \u2018changed from glory into glory\u2019, with the invitation to ‘cast her crown’ before Him.<\/p>\n

In addition, there were to be numerous readings of Scripture about her hope in Christ and the promise of eternal life. The pastor\u2019s heart warmed. How easy it could be for her funeral to be \u201call about her,\u201d but that was not what she wanted. Rather, it was to be in many ways the final statement of her calling \u2013 all about Him<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n

When the visit came to an end, the pastor said goodbye, encouraged by their time together. It had been a positive visit. \u201cI came away thinking there is someone who has no fear of death, has hope in the future, knows the rock on which she stands and that gives her strength.\u201d The conversation was, of course, between Archbishop Justin Welby, and Her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. (2)<\/p>\n

On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope<\/strong><\/p>\n

Few of us enjoy conversation around the one certainty we are all destined to face at some time or another. It is a matter we seek to avoid at all costs, and if possible, try not to think about due to the sadness and associated fears.<\/p>\n

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Is it possible to have \u2018no fear of death\u2019? Is it possible to \u2018be ready to die\u2019? It is perhaps timely that in the coming series of Sabbath School Lessons beginning October 1st<\/sup>, Seventh-day Adventists around the globe will consider the subject of \u201cOn Death, Dying and the Future Hope\u201d, with special emphasis given to \u201cthe mortal nature of human beings and how the resurrection is the condition for immortality. The study is built on the hope and premise that,\u00a0 “We should not fear death because Christ died for us and overcame the power of death. Actually, we are assured that He holds \u201cthe keys to death and to the place of the dead\u201d (Rev. 1:18, NCV). (3)<\/p>\n

The introduction to this new series of lessons continues, \u201cExpressions of death can be seen all around us. Our world is full of suffering and tears. We need assurance in the present and hope for the future. We will explore the painful subject of death, but through the lens of the hope offered us through Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

It would be easy to see this series of studies as the opposite of uplifting and inspiring \u2013 not least because it is a matter most would prefer to avoid. We also need to recognise that for some, these studies could bring to the surface painful memories of loss, from the recent or even distant past.<\/p>\n

But from another perspective, the mindset the late Queen Elizabeth II is helpful as we approach this study series together, how a global event becomes a timely teachable moment – as He was \u2018her rock,\u2019 may He be ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

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