Dwight Vander Pol
Notes
Transcript
as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
Scripture: Philippians 1:20-26
Dwight Vander Pol Funeral Meditation
Brothers and sisters in Christ, when I look at how many people are here today and how many different places and states are in Dwight’s obituary, it’s apparent that a wide net of influence was cast by this man. Just because there’s lots of people doesn’t always mean someone was great, but at the very least I feel confident in saying, Dwight was well-liked, and he loved others. Having a lot of places represented could mean people wanted to get away from him, but I don’t get that sense; I don’t think that’s true. I think in his own travels and in his life with Bonnie and his family, and as that family has spread out, we see a bit of adventure and even maybe that old pioneer spirit that was a big part of life for those who settled this area. Maybe Dwight, in part, passed that on.
I call these things to mind—people and places and the events connected to one’s life, because these remind us of a person’s influence. Sometimes our influence is something we are very intentional about—we do things for a certain, hoped for, outcome. Other times, we find our influence in things we never expected. It’s clear to me, though, that Dwight Vander Pol didn’t live life just drifting along. The story we hear in his memory is not just that he was born, he held a job, got married, had kids, ran a business, and then moved west until his final days. No, there was so much more that he did, so many other connections and impacts that he had the opportunity to make and be known through.
But today, there’s one specific thing we can’t miss. In his life, his faith was one of, if not the most important thing that he had the ability to influence people with. He made the importance of his faith and beliefs known, and their importance for others. He did that in his life, and now in his death, it remains the most important message that any and all of us can still be influenced by.
The faith I’m talking about is not a faith in Dwight or in his lifestyle. As we have already heard, it is a faith, it is trust and hope, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Dwight believed in the God who has always existed, and who came in the flesh long ago. He believed in Jesus, the only God-man, who lived an obedient life, died on a cross for our sins, rose again to promise us new life, ascended into heaven where he reigns as King over all, and we now wait for him to return.
Dwight believed in the same Christ as the apostle Paul. He and Paul shared faith in the same anointed one of God who accomplished all that is necessary for the salvation of God’s people. I pray that all of us here might already be united in that same faith, or that we would hear the invitation to that faith today—because it is the most important piece in anyone’s life.
Our passage brought us to one of the most well-known quotes of Paul, verse 21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” If there is one line that sums up everything in this passage, it’s that one. Paul’s not ashamed of his faith in Jesus Christ. He essentially asks God to give him courage that Christ will always be exalted or lifted up in him. He wanted to labor or spend all his time fruitfully for God. But he also knew that departure from this life, death, meant something so great—getting to go and be with Jesus in such a way that one simply cannot know in this world. Those who put notes in the NIV Study Bible really hit the nail on the head, “Christ was the source and secret of Paul’s continual joy (even in prison), for Paul’s life found all its meaning in Christ… Paul’s ultimate concern and most precious possession…is Christ and his relationship to him.”
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Those are the Holy Spirit’s words to Paul, and to the church, but they’re also words that are unique of Paul. Not just any person, any believer even, can take those words and say, “those apply to me.” No, this was Paul’s understanding of his life. Whatever he could do with and for God, he wanted that, even when it meant going to prison. That just meant his mission field became the guards and officials and other prisoners around him. But he knew, too, a time would come when this would all be over. His faith and labor of faith was the greatest thing he could do, but he was ready at any time to go and be with his Lord and Savior.
Brothers and sisters, friends and family, for every person who does believe in Jesus, there is potential to live and labor just like Paul or at least to pursue that kind of life for the rest of our days. But this really isn’t about Paul, just like this service isn’t ultimately about Dwight. It’s about sinners, which every one of us are, myself included. We’ve messed up over and over again; we’ve hurt God; we’ve hurt other people. Some of us might not even know what it’s like to actually not hurt or think poorly of others. This testimony is about sinners, who in Jesus have a Savior who reaches out to them and gifts them with forgiveness and salvation. And having been given that, those sinners who now possess the greatest gift, want to introduce it to others. And in their lives and in their labor, these sinners, being changed by God, want to bring him glory and worship.
If you are a believer, is that what your faith is about? If you don’t consider yourself believer, is that the message you’ve heard, even perhaps that you’ve rejected? Today this is the message—and this has always been the message of the Christian gospel. Everything comes from and flows through and points back to Jesus—not any one of us. The path of sin without faith and repentance only leads to hell. Who and what is most important to you and to me? Ultimately it must be God. It has to be the one who saves us, who gives us the hope for eternity that Dwight is one step closer too.
The apostle Paul writes in Romans 6, “All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death[.] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.” Being buried in the ground in a casket or being cremated and having our ashes in an urn or sprinkled somewhere, that’s not the end. We aren’t just looking forward to a peaceful, happy unconscious death. There is more to come! Christ will cause us to rise again and live with him for all eternity when he returns.
To live in the presence of God eternally is why Paul knew that there was gain to be had in death. I’m guessing Dwight wasn’t afraid to go—this was why. Do you have that same hope, that same present and future mindset? God, I trust you. Do with me what you will on this earth through me. And bring me to yourself for all of eternity, when you decide that time has come. Amen.