Apr 17, 2021
When Death Is Not the End, What’s Your Legacy?
Funerals are full of so many different emotions. For me personally, I don’t think I’ve ever been able to attend a funeral without crying, regardless of whether I know the person or not. It’s like the wave of emotions hit me as I think about the loss that the family is going through, the pain of losing someone that they love. I remember those close to me that I’ve lost, and that pain resurfaces in different ways. The ‘death sting’ and the finality is real, yet I know, for those that have chosen to follow Jesus, the sting of death is for a time and I will see them again. Death is not the end — 1 Corinthians 15:1–55
Yesterday I attended the funeral of my friend’s Dad. Soon after I walked in the door tears started running quietly down the sides of my cheeks and dripping onto my shirt. I savoured the moment and the thoughts that went with it.
Gerald had lived a life that was full, he was full of passion, vigour, love, and kindness, a man who inspired so many.
The service was full of celebration, laughter at those moments of his life that were so appropriate to laugh at, and then the special memories of how he impacted so many by the way he lived. There were so many incredible stories, two stood out to me.
Gerald and his family had boarded a boat from Australia bound to Africa. Gerald had been asked to pray for a lady onboard that was sick. He knocked on her cabin door, but no one answered, so he opened the door to find the woman lying on the bed, with no one else there. He prayed for her and then left, only to find out later that the doctor had just pronounced her dead and had left the room to write up the death certificate! When the doctor and husband returned to the cabin the wife was alive and well.
Many years later, when the family returned home from Africa, Gerald was holding regular meetings in Brisbane where people were being healed and making decisions to surrender their lives to follow Jesus. A number of criminals were coming to the meetings, and their lives were being dramatically changed. One night a whole gang got saved, and the police called Gerard to thank him for stopping crime in the city.
The funeral service was just short of 2 hours, I cried for most of it.
The power of a surrendered life following God is one to be celebrated.
I was deeply moved by Gerald’s impact on so many lives. His legacy will continue.
It was said that Gerald had the Elisha anointing, a double portion*. He certainly was a man that lived the love and power of God.
It’s clear to me that Gerald’s life was one of strong conviction. God had rescued him as a young man. Jesus had appeared at the side of his bed, he was unwell, his eyes were wrapped in cloth, his vision had been impaired, his heart was aching. Gerald needed a miracle and he got one.
He was a man who believed what God said and took action. I want to be a woman of action and conviction. Someone who believes what God speaks and then acts, knowing God will not fail me. I know that He never does. What about you?
*Excerpt from Got Questions: The request by Elisha for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit in 2 Kings 2 referred likewise to being doubly blessed in his life and ministry. Interestingly, Scripture records exactly twice as many miracles through Elisha (28 miracles) as took place through Elijah (14 miracles).
When Elisha first made his request, Elijah answered, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so” (2 Kings 2:10). After Elisha watched Elijah taken up to heaven, he picked up Elijah’s cloak. Returning to the Jordan River, he called out to the Lord and struck the water with the cloak. The water opened up, and Elisha walked across on dry ground. This act affirmed the transition of the prophetic office from Elijah to Elisha as well as the fulfillment of Elisha’s request.
