“Why would God take someone like Jeremy, who was doing so much for Him instead of someone like me, who isn’t doing anything?” I was asked this question in the church hallway, just a few weeks after the funeral.
I thought about this for a minute because I had wrestled with the same question.
I had felt that Jeremy got cheated out of the rest of his life. He had so much more he wanted to do for God and the community. The new church building is so close to being completed and he had so patiently waited for his chance to preach in there. He doesn’t get to see his girls grow up, or walk them down the aisle, or bounce grandkids on his knees. There was so much more he wanted to learn and so much more to teach us. He didn’t get to see the fruits of his labors. He didn’t get to visit Israel or lead another missions trip. He won’t get to grow old with the love of his life or take his family to Disney World.
Then, God reminded me how backward my perspective can be. So, I put on my “perspectacles” and looked at things from God’s point of view. And that’s what I shared in the hallway that day.
Jeremy didn’t get cheated.
Most people work hard their entire lives in order to retire one day. They put in the extra hours, save the money, pay down their loans, invest, contribute to a retirement account, etc., just so that they can eventually stop working. But lets say the boss comes in one day in the middle of a huge project in the prime of your career and says, “You’ve worked so hard and I’m so pleased with you that I’m going to offer you an early retirement. Everything will be provided for you to live out the rest of your days in the lap of luxury.” Are you going to say, “Oh, no. I couldn’t do that! I’ve got this project I need to finish and all the loose ends to tie up. I have another 40 years to slave away for you before I can think about enjoying my life!”? Of course you wouldn’t. You’d hand the office keys to your co-workers and eagerly accept your reward. So would I.
In the book of Philippians, Paul wrote, “To me, to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” He wanted to be with Jesus, but he knew his work on earth was not yet finished. It was for our good that Paul lived through shipwrecks, famine, stonings, beatings and even being left for dead. For us and for the Kingdom of God.
Jeremy had planned to work hard for the Kingdom until the very end of his life. And he did. The end came way earlier than anticipated and much work was left for the rest of us to continue, but he accomplished what he ultimately set out to do. He served God all of his days and he finished strong. He entered into the joy of his Savior and heard “Well done, good and faithful servant.” He is basking in the sunshine of the face of the Creator and is enjoying his reward. And his legacy is outliving him, because it was a Kingdom legacy.
Does that make me miss him any less? No. Does that mean that I don’t sometimes feel cheated out of a lifetime with him? Again, no. I definitely do. Selfishly, I want him back so badly I can’t stand it. But that wouldn’t be fair to him. He finished his race, and he finished it well. He got an early retirement.
I may never fully understand why God chose this timing. From my human standpoint, it seemed so premature. It seems so unfair. It seems like a mistake. But this I know: God makes no mistakes. I also know that I still have work to do. I know that, because I’m still here. I don’t want to stand before the One Who died for me, having wasted my life. Time is short! Only what’s done for Christ will last. I may get an early retirement, like my husband. I may not. Either way, I want to be ready. I want to hear “Well done.” I want to have no more regrets. I want to point people to Jesus. I want to make Heaven crowded. I want to have crowns to lay at my Savior’s feet.
Why did God take Jeremy home and leave us here? Because Jeremy’s work was finished and ours is not. Let’s do the work and let’s not waste the time we have left.
TPW 2/19/22
