A Long Journey
Traveled
Hilda
didn’t have the easiest journey in this life.
She used to tell me the story about when she was in the Ukraine as a young
woman during the time of WWII. And
because Hitler’s army needed to be fed, he forced those in the lands he had
conquered to work in the fields to support the troops under his command. Hilda was among those who were forced to work
to feed the German army. Unfortunately,
the fields to which Hilda and her family and her friends were assigned were
located in Yugoslavia. So they had to travel
under armed guard to get there. Once
there, they worked in the fields all day, still under armed guard, with only a
few hours of sleep at night outside. And
this went on day after day until Hitler was defeated. Which meant that one morning Hilda and the
rest of the group that was with her found themselves in a field in the middle
of Yugoslavia, with no one else around and nothing more to do then turn around
and make the long journey home. It took
them weeks, walking all day long, scrounging for any food they could manage,
sleeping in the ditches at night, to finally complete the trek and settle in
Austria. And according to Hilda, it was
one of the worst times of her life - understandably so! But I would imagine that after she made that
journey, home must have never looked so sweet.
I would
doubt that Hilda’s life got much worse after that incident, but I don’t know if
it got a whole lot better either. Many
of you who knew Hilda either know of or have heard about many of the things
that she had to go through when she lived in this world. Not the least of which is the fact that she
was a widow longer than I have been alive.
Her journey through this life was difficult, filled with pain and
trouble and disappointment. And as she
was struggling with more of the same in the past few months of her life, she
told me many, many times that all she wanted to do was to go home. And she didn’t mean going back to her house
over on the east side of town - although she wouldn’t have minded that either,
and she certainly didn’t mean that she wanted to go back to Austria
either. Hilda wanted to go “Home” home -
to heaven, to the Paradise where her Savior was. Because Hilda understood something that God
clearly says in the Bible: “Our
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord
Jesus Christ.” Hilda may have been
born in the Ukraine, she may have spent time in Austria, she may have been a
long time resident of Colorado, but she was most importantly a citizen of the
kingdom of heaven because she believed in Jesus as her Savior. And when she finally did make it home just a
few days ago, I can imagine that “home” never looked so sweet.
A Long Journey
Evaluated
I had
many conversations with Hilda through the years I knew her, but especially in
these last few weeks as her health deteriorated I got to talk to her more and
more. And as we would talk about life
and death, about the journey she has taken in this world and the glories
awaiting her in heaven, sometimes she would get a little frustrated because the
Lord hadn’t taken her home yet. She was
ready, she was longing to enter that life of perfection with her Lord, but he
hadn’t taken her as soon as she wanted.
And she said to me on more than one occasion: “Maybe I’m just too big of
a sinner. Maybe that’s why God hasn’t
taken me yet.” Now, I didn’t tell her
that she wasn’t a big sinner… Instead
I told her: “So am I! Welcome to the
club! I’m a big sinner just like you
are.” And that was true! I wasn’t just trying to make her feel
better. She was a big sinner in this
life. And so I am. And so are you. We have done things and said things and
thought things that were awful and disgusting and mean and selfish. And Hilda understood that for even one of
those sins she did not deserve anything good from her Lord. None of us are good enough to deserve
anything good in return from the perfect God.
But that
wasn’t the end of our conversation either.
“Welcome to the club,” I said to Hilda.
“You may be a big sinner, but you are a forgiven sinner as well. Your sins are completely wiped away because
of what Jesus did for you on the cross.
Jesus was treated like the biggest sinner of all, so that when God the
Father looks at you now, all he sees is his perfect child. He’s not refusing to take you because you’re
a sinner; he’s just waiting for exactly the right time for someone he loves so
much.” And that was true too. I wasn’t just trying to make her feel
better. Because of the sacrifice of
himself that Jesus offered on the cross and the fact that he actually rose from
the dead to prove that he was true God as well, Hilda’s faults and errors and
evils, and my faults and errors and evils, and your faults and errors and evils
have been forgiven. They are no longer
held against you. No matter how many
sins you have committed in this journey of life and no matter how big they were
or how big they will be, the shadow of Jesus’ cross covers them all and the
depth of Jesus’ empty tomb buries them forever.
A Long Journey Finished
It took
a while for Hilda to come to terms with that wonderful gift of God’s
grace. It took her awhile to be
convinced by the Lord that he really did forgive her completely, that he really
did love her, that he really did want to take her home - even though he may
have waited a little longer than she would have liked. But as her body grew weaker, her faith grew
stronger. And through God’s Word her
Lord assured her that her citizenship really was in heaven, and her Savior -
the Lord himself, Jesus Christ, was waiting for her there. And now that is exactly where she is: her
long journey is finished, her difficulties are done with, not because she tried
so hard, not because she did her best, but because her Savior did everything
that was necessary for her. Her journey
on this earth has ended, but her journey in Paradise has just begun.
That’s
the beauty of the funeral of a Christian!
I can stand up here this morning and tell you with 100% confidence that
Hilda Schlott is in heaven with her Savior right now. I couldn’t read her heart, but I did hear
from her own mouth what she believed.
She believed that Jesus was her Savior.
And Jesus himself has promised, “Whoever believes in me will be
saved.” God’s promises do not fail. And so Hilda is with her God as we speak.
That
same promise is yours: “Whoever believes in Jesus will be saved.” There are no exceptions to the rule, but
there aren’t any strings attached either!
You aren’t required to do a thing!
Jesus has done it all for you!
And because this is true, every single person who believes in Jesus as
their Savior will see Hilda again. Not
just “might,” not just “maybe,” not just “I hope we do…” Every Christian will see Hilda again because
our citizenship is in heaven too and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the
Lord Jesus Christ. What a comfort that
is. What a joy to go home with. What a profound happiness that Hilda is
experiencing first hand at this very moment.
This
journey of life may be long for you just as it was for Hilda. It may be filled with difficulties and last
longer than you would like just like it did for Hilda. But just like Hilda, you can finish this long
journey strong. Because you can look
forward to that wonderful home where Hilda now is. Cling to your Savior who promises to take you
there. Because when you do arrive, home
will have never looked so sweet.
Amen.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment