Reading With the People of God - #4 ComfortSample

What is your comfort in death?

Many of us are in denial about the reality of our imminent death; we pretend like we are immortal, and we live like we will live forever. Yet, in moments of honest sobriety, we must admit that death is terrifying! Yet, we believe in comfort in life AND in death! In his book,The End of the Christian Life, Todd Billings shares a story of witnessing firsthand a man who died in the comfort of belonging to Jesus.

As Claude's pastor (a friend of mine) entered the hospital room, the bed was circled not with doctors and nurses but with family and close friends. Only a ventilator was keeping Claude alive now, given the advanced stage of his degenerative illness. Even with the ventilator, each breath took work. Medically speaking, recovery was not possible.

And so his loved ones gathered and formed a circle, and one by one they told Claude how much they loved him. There were smiles and laughter as well as tears at this goodbye. After others had spoken, the room was quiet for a moment, shifting the attention to the pastor. Just as my friend was beginning to speak about the bold Christian trust that we belong to God, ready to commend Claude to the Lord in prayer, Claude reached up and pulled the ventilator off his face. The circle of people gasped, as did Claude, who would not be able to breathe more than a few minutes without the ventilator. But with the ventilator off and his mouth free to speak through labored breaths, his lips delivered words he had learned as a child:

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death— to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

The words of the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism trailed off as Claude's final breaths quietly punctuated his last earthly moments. My pastor-friend was in tears when he told the story, as was I by the time he finished.

Many Christians today try to combine the prosperity of status and health with the gospel of Jesus Christ. More than a few cannot imagine a terrible sickness followed by death to be anything other than a defeat. But Claude, in this final scene of his earthly life, gave his family a taste of a different kind of prosperity. He witnessed to the prosperity that cannot be measured by status, a bank statement, or even a life span. In an ordinary hospital room, with no video cameras or journalists, he embraced his weakness. He pulled off the mask and those gathered both gasped for breath and yet breathed in the scent of shalom, wholeness, the peace of someone who belongs to Jesus Christ.

In the boldness of his weakness, he commended his own body and soul to the King of the kingdom, the priest of the temple, the crucified and risen Savior, the One who embodies true flourishing in his very person.

What a beautiful picture of our comfort in Christ! As you continue to recite these truths and read God's Word, may the Gospel's power continue to inform how you live and think about death!

Today's prayer of illumination:

Lord, I am so grateful for the assurance that I can find comfort, even in death! Heavenly Father, help me not to live in denial about my mortality; help me live as one who belongs to you and lives trusting that your ways are higher than mine. Holy Spirit, as I read the Word and meditate on the truths you illuminate, help me remember the Word you have for me today. Jesus, thank you for all that you have done for me! Amen

Memorization Challenge of the Month:

Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1

Q1. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A1. That I am not my own, but belong— body and soul, in life and in death— to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.