I pleaded with God not to take her! But she quietly stopped breathing, her pulse growing more and more distant until it was no more.

“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). We have been given a command and yet we seldom are diligently, actively, and single-mindedly pursuing things above . . . until . . . we, who are God’s children, are driven to some tragedy that draws us to our only Hope.

C. S. Lewis observed that Christians are ineffective in this world because they have ceased to think about the other world. He says, “Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”

John the Baptist aimed for Heaven. He lived a plain and simple life as a “herald” introducing the world to the Hero of all history. His ministry, though short-lived, was the greatest next to Jesus Himself (Matthew 11:11). Yet, when Herod Antipas put John in prison (Luke 3:19-20), we do not witness Jesus breaking him out. Jesus never lost sight of His mission: to do the Father’s will. Even though John the Baptist was a “forerunner”: preparing the way for Jesus Himself, and even though he was a great man, and not to mention, Jesus’ cousin, his ministry and earthly life came to an end (Matthew 14:1-12).

Each of us are here for a time, until our time runs out! The Bible teaches the brevity of this life so that we will not waste time pursuing foolish acts but grow in wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Live wisely! Do you know how a wise person spends their time? “A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time,” (Ecclesiastes 7:4, NLT).

We feel beggared by our sorrows and focus on them instead of allowing them to make us rich by correctly responding to them. The Bible wisely states, “Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us,” (Ecclesiastes 7:3, NLT).

Do you feel beggared by your sorrows?

My beloved sis-in-law is now with her Savior and even though we have suffered “with great pains and losses, Jesus says, ‘Be of good cheer’ (John 16:33, NKJV).

The new house is nearly ready for you. Moving day is coming. The dark winter is about to be magically transformed into spring. One day soon you will be home—for the first time. Until then, I encourage you to meditate on the Bible’s truths about Heaven.” (Taken from Heaven by Randy Alcorn)

We who have gone through the day of sadness, shall enjoy together that day of gladness. –Richard Baxter