Stones of Remembrance: goodbye for now, not forever

Today was the service for Jean and what a beautiful celebration of life it was! Several wonderful stories were shared by family and friends, including her husband Rick. Their son also shared some moving words in a letter written to family and friends. I want to share a small part of that with you:

She taught me to laugh in the face of adversity - that being upset was never a solution. Her faith, compassion, and willingness to listen always left me feeling assured that everything would be okay. Even as I walked with her through her battle with cancer, she was never negative, never afraid, and never sad. Once again, she put my mind at ease that everything would be alright.

The service was a powerful reminder of so many things: faith, friendship, love - and most importantly, a personal relationship with the Lord. Five years ago, when she surrendered her life to Him a transformation took place - her brother Don mentioned it several times. Without a doubt, it was He who gave her the strength, peace, and grace she needed. She knew that heaven was around the corner and had the assurance of her salvation. The Bible says that this is available to every single one of us but we must first recognize our need for a Savior. God will not force you to accept His Son, it will forever remain your choice. But the Bible makes it pretty clear that Jesus is the way to eternal life:

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
"For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all ..." (1 Timothy 2:5)
"There is one body and one Spirit ... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4)
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)
"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and find pasture ... I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:9)
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." (John 11:25)
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12)
And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." (John 6:51)
"... whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:15-16)
"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24)
"... And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:11)
"And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." (1 John 4:14)