Carolyn Cruser Funeral
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One of the most profound and life-changing statements ever made in history is found in John 11.
It’s here that Jesus said,
John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”
Jesus didn’t say these words just in passing. He didn’t say them flippantly. He actually said these words at a funeral for his friend named Lazarus who had been in a tomb for four days. And he directed these words to two grieving sisters who had just lost their brother.
Now, if you’re familiar with the story, you know that Jesus right after saying this raised Lazarus from the dead to show that not even death itself has any power over Him.
Now, these words from Jesus are the cornerstone of our faith and hope. And if what Jesus said is true, then it changes everything. If it’s not true, then there’s really no reason to listen to anything Jesus ever had to say.
But because we believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, because we believe that Jesus is the one who reigns over both life and death and that those whose hope and belief is in him will live forever with Jesus in complete joy and wholeness, then we can endure suffering, listen, with joy and hope.
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit with Carolyn. She knew time was short. She knew she most likely wasn’t going to make it through the month of April. And yet, the entire time I was there with her, I don’t think she stopped smiling. She was filled with joy.
In fact, the first thing she gave me when I walked into her room was this little note that said, “Matt, I keep thinking, ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful to be resurrected on Easter, but I guess I’ll have to wait until God says so. I must still have something to do here! Oh, glorious day when Jesus took my sins away!’”
This note is probably something I’m going to hold onto for the rest of my life because it is such an amazing encouragement. Here’s someone knowing life on earth is coming to a close and her hope is in the resurrected Christ and the infinite joy of knowing him and being forgiven.
That’s a hope that only Jesus can give you. You don’t find that anywhere else. This, almost anticipation for physical death because all it means is that you will finally be with Jesus.
I mean, even on the night Carolyn passed away when I talked with Jim, he was grieving but at the same time was filled with joy because his mom was with Jesus.
Carolyn’s life displayed the beauty and worth of Jesus. The way her family is walking through difficulty is displaying the worth of Jesus. Their desire is for the good news of Jesus to be proclaimed.
And so, yes, I’m the one with the mic on right now, yes, people are hearing my voice, and by God’s grace, I’ll proclaim the sufficiency and excellency of Christ above all. But what will give weight to these feeble words of mine and what will be speaking louder and remembered longer is Carolyn’s life and testimony of God’s steadfast love and grace. A life that showed that she believed that Jesus reigns over life and death. A life that showed that Jesus is good, that Jesus is better, and God’s grace is sufficient. What will give weight to these words of mine is the testimony of the family and how you all have endured suffering and have shown that Jesus is enough.
I want to say to you all that how you have walked through this suffering together, resting in the goodness, in the sufficiency, in the sovereignty of God has spoken volumes. You have declared through your life that Jesus is enough, and that even in the face of loss, you have shown that if we still have Jesus, we’ve won and will walk in joy and peace. Carolyn showed that to the very end. She finished well. And so, thank you for your faithful and steadfast endurance through pain and suffering. Thank you for showing that Jesus is enough.
That Jesus is beautiful. That Jesus is good.
Now, I say that Carolyn was ready to go home to be with Jesus and was anticipating it with a confident and settled hope, but at the same time, she knew that until God called her home she was on mission. You heard it in her note. “I guess I have to wait until God says so. I must still have something to do here!
She loved her family. She loved her friends. She had a heart for people and to see them come to know Jesus. That was evident in her when I saw her just a couple of weeks ago. She hadn’t given up. She wasn’t coasting to the finish line. Her heart was for people coming to know Jesus as Lord. And she was comforted with the truth that she’s secure in Christ and her sins were forgiven.
Carolyn’s hope was ultimately resting in the sufficiency of Christ through hardship and suffering. Jesus often sought to comfort those who were hurting with the hope of heaven. But heaven is truly heaven because Jesus is there.
And so, in John 14, Jesus encouraged his disciples with this truth.
John 14:1-3, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
This here is probably the greatest promise ever made because it was,
Number one,
Made by the greatest person who ever lived.
Made by the greatest person who ever lived.
Never has there ever been another person who has changed the course of human history as Jesus has.
For sure, there have been many who have come and gone who have made impacts in the world, but no one aside from Jesus has ever determined the course of history.
Jesus speaks and the wind and sea obey him.
Jesus speaks and the sick are healed.
Jesus speaks and those dead in sin are brought to life.
And yet, Jesus’ life was one marked with humility, gentleness, and compassion for the hurting and afflicted.
There’s been no one else quite like Jesus.
But this is also the greatest promise ever made because secondly,
It’s about the greatest place ever imagined.
It’s about the greatest place ever imagined.
Man’s greatest efforts pale in comparison to what God has for those who belong to him.
And yet, remember what I said. What makes heaven, heaven is the presence of Jesus. Isn’t that what Jesus said in John 14? “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Remove Jesus from heaven and you don’t have heaven.
We were created to walk and live in relationship with God. It’s what we were designed for. To be with Him.
You see, what God is doing and working together through Jesus the Son is a life where all things are made new again. Life free from pain, free from suffering, free from hardships, free from death.
And this is what awaits those who belong to Christ.
This is the greatest promise ever made because, thirdly,
Its purpose is our eternal comfort.
Its purpose is our eternal comfort.
Remember what Jesus said in John 14 to his disciples who were going to face intense suffering. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.”
You know, I keep coming back to what Carolyn said when faced with physical death that would be soon. “What if it was on Easter?!” Why was that such an amazing thought to her? Because Easter doesn’t represent death, it represents life. Because Jesus is alive, Carolyn is alive with him.
She was comforted by the fact that she had run the race of life well, she was finishing well, and that she was soon going to be with Jesus. And so, death wasn’t something she feared because of her hope in Christ. Eternal life with Jesus, free from pain, free from the bondage that we face in this world was something that brought her comfort.
And so, Jesus’ words to his disciples are words for us to hold fast to as well because the promise remains. “Don’t let your heart be troubled.” He is faithful and good.
This is the greatest promise ever made because, fourthly,
It rests on the greatest proposition.
It rests on the greatest proposition.
Jesus said, “Listen, you believe in God, believe in me.”
You see, this promise is certain for all who believe. Well, believe what? Believe in Jesus.
The heart, the message, and the essence of the gospel is simply this.
God is holy, he is the creator and sustainer of all life. In fact, all life exists because he says so and all life exists for the glory of God.
But just as holy as God is, we are just as sinful and unholy. We’re rebels and traitors of God looking to find life, hope, and meaning in God’s creation rather than in God himself.
And because of that, we’ve brought upon ourselves his judgment and wrath for our sin and betrayal.
And our only hope of redemption and reconciliation and restoration with God is not in our good works, it’s not in our religious piety. It’s in resting completely and fully in the person and work of Jesus. Faith in his life, his death, and his resurrection.
And for those who turn from their sin, repent, and turn in faith to a God who loves them and died for them they find life, they find purpose, they find hope.
Jesus wasn’t saying here to believe certain facts about him, he said, believe in me, rest in me, hold fast to me, follow me and you’ll find what you were created for.
Carolyn is more alive today than she ever has been. How? Because Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Because she believed in him. Even though Carolyn’s physical body died, she lives because Jesus lives. She’s more alive and filled with joy than she has ever been! She’s healed. She’s restored. She’s whole. She’s in the presence of her Savior right now.
How is this hope possible?
Jesus willingly endured death on a cross himself so that death would no longer be our great enemy but that through Christ we would stand in victory and hope knowing that death does not any longer have the final say. On the cross Jesus took the shame, took our sin upon himself, became the curse, took the condemnation so that we would be set free to walk in joy and life.
Death does not have the final say in Carolyn’s life. It has no power over her anymore. There’s no sting to it anymore.
This is the hope we have in Christ. This is the change Jesus does in our hearts. It’s the change that took place in Carolyn’s life. It’s what has changed so many within her family so that they can say even through suffering that God is good with every breath they have they plead with any who have not yet believed to believe in Jesus.
With every fiber of my being, God has called me to faithfully proclaim the good news that Jesus saves.
There is no sin or shame in your life that the cross of Christ is not powerful enough to overcome.
Dwight L. Moody is one of the greatest evangelists to ever live. He spent his life proclaiming the beauty and worth and joy of knowing Jesus. Knowing that one day his physical life would end he once said,
“Someday you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone higher, that is all — out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal, a body that sin cannot touch, that sin cannot taint, a body fashioned into His glorious body. I was born in the flesh in 1837; I was born of the Spirit in 1856. That which is born of the flesh may die; that which is born of the Spirit will live forever.”
Years later, Moody was on his death bed. Within hours of his going to be with Jesus Moody said,
“Earth recedes. Heaven opens before me. If this is death, it is sweet! There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go.” “This is my triumph; this is my coronation day! It is glorious!”
Last Wednesday evening, Carolyn passed from this life on earth to life in heaven with Jesus. She had her coronation day. Crowned with the splendor and glory of knowing Christ and being found in Him. Crowned with the reality that sin no longer affects her, pain no longer has a hold on her, suffering for her is something in the past that she’ll never again endure. We do not grieve for Carolyn; she’s doing just fine. She’s filled to the brim with joy in Jesus. Overflowing.
We grieve for ourselves because we’re separated from someone dear to us. But at the same time long and yearn for the day when we will be reunited; when death will be no more; when God will wipe away every tear and we will forever be with our God.
This is the promise Jesus gives us in himself.
So, let us rest in that glorious hope and encourage one another in the goodness and faithfulness and sufficiency of Christ. He is all we need.