Beloved,
Next week we will pick up our exposition of Larger Catechism 160 as we think together about how God wills for His word to be heard. But in light of Ralph’s memorial today, I’ve decided to share an excerpt from Tim Challies’ book Seasons of Sorrow which I referenced a couple of weeks ago in a sermon (it will be a book of the month in the near future). In it, Challies gives vent to his raw grief after the unexpected and sudden death of his twenty-year-old son. The excerpt below was inspired by a famous sonnet by John Donne that mocks death, ending with the famous lines:
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
Here is Challies’ words to death in the wake of his son Nick’s passing:
Death, did you bring any great harm to Nick when you released his spirit from his body? Surely not, for all you did was deliver him from physical pain and deliver him to spiritual blessings. You liberated him from all strife and strain, from all sorrow and suffering, from all anxiety and uncertainty. You delivered him to the fullest peace and the sweetest comfort. Death, be not proud!
Death, did you bring any great harm to Nick when you took him from my side? No, for when you took Nick from my side, you delivered him to the Savior’s. You transported him to that place where he can receive his welcome and his reward, where he can see his Savior’s face, where he can express his deepest gratitude to the One who healed him and made him whole. Death, be not proud!
Death, did you bring any great harm to Nick when you carried him away from this place of toil, away from this place that so constantly strains body, mind, and spirit? No, for he has now been given rest–rest from all that aggrieves, rest from all that perplexes, rest from all that discourages. He no longer has to strive against sin or labor toward holiness; he no longer faces trials and no longer endures temptations; he no longer sins and is no longer sinned against. He is now fully equipped to perfectly serve the Savior he loves so well. Death, be not proud!
Death, did you bring any great harm to Nick when you called him away from his earthly home? No, for you merely called Nick away from this foreign land in which he was only ever a sojourner and took him to that new land where he had long since secured full citizenship. You transported him from this place of faith to that place of sight, from this shadow to that light, from this foretaste to that reality, from an earthly tent to a celestial palace. Death, be not proud!
Death, though you may think you are a master, you are but a servant. Though you may think you are mighty, you have only the limited shreds of power that God has granted you. Though you may think you are scary, I laugh in your face. You may be convinced that because you have walked this earth since the days of the garden, you will walk it forever, but listen, and you will hear that the clock is ticking; look, and you will see that the sands of time are sinking; think, and you will know that your doom is fast approaching. For to the same degree that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ guaranteed the lives of those he loves, it guaranteed your demise.
And on that day, not one will mourn, not one will weep, not one will shed a single tear for you. To the contrary, we will sing, we will celebrate, we will party and rejoice, we will dance upon your grave. Death, raise your chin and look me in the eye as I say it: You did Jesus no harm, you can do me no harm, and you did my Nick no harm. Death, be not proud, for one short sleep past, we wake eternally, and you shall be no more. Death, you shall die!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick