Family and friends of Richard:
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and follows him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
On Saturday, January 2, the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – called Richard Smith to his eternal home. He entered heaven and is continuing his eternal life that he received by grace through faith in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
One of the hobbies Richard had in his earthly life was to drive around. Some of the best times he had was simply being with his wife Betty as they drove around town and the countryside. He loved every moment he had with his wife Betty.
As a resident at GlenFields, Richard took part in its Just one WISH program. After Betty died, Richard’s one wish was to visit Betty’s grave and the home they shared in Green Isle. His wish was granted as he placed a bouquet of purple flowers on her grave, which was Betty’s favorite color, and he spent all that day remembering all the great times they had together.
Throughout the years he lived at GlenFields, he enjoyed getting out of his room to see what was happening throughout the building. I would catch him from time to time in his wheelchair and I would ask him if he needed any assistance back to his room, he typically denied my request. It could be that he was thinking about of all those times as he drove around with his wife as he saw new things along the way.
Certainly, the scenery in and around GlenFields changed during his time there with the addition and remodeling. Of all the places he could be in the building, there was only one place Richard could be found when First Lutheran led services, and that was GlenFields’ chapel. Today, through his faith in Jesus, Richard is living out the promise of eternal life as he has passed from death to life! Right now, Richard is experiencing what he could never imagine. He is in heaven with all the saints!
[Hearing and Believing]
In our Gospel reading, Jesus tells us this good news: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
Now, do you realize that everyone who hears the words of Jesus and believes in Him is already living eternal life? Much of the time, we only think of going to heaven. Yes, heaven is wonderful! But it is much more than that, because everyone who believes in Christ today already has eternal life!
But is there a time when eternal life begins?
Today, we see the wages of sin, which is death. Although Richard’s body is here, his soul is living in heaven.
For Richard, the prospect of eternal life began when the Triune God chose him at his baptism. At the moment Richard heard God’s name pronounced over him in the waters of Holy Baptism, he received the ability to believe in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. This is the same for you and me!
Did you catch that? For everyone baptized into Christ, we come to faith by first hearing God’s Triune Name – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He first calls us through the waters of Holy Baptism. It is here, where the Holy Spirit calls us and enlightens us. It is here, where we receive the ability to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
So, the prospect of eternal life actually begins at our baptism. But how do we know when eternal life actually begins?
Well, eternal life begins when we hear the words of Jesus saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” and you believe it!
Here, Jesus is not speaking of a future giving of life, because of past believing. Here, Jesus is speaking of the present. So, the very moment you truly believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have eternal life.
[In Christ Alone]
Now, what about those who deny Jesus by refusing to listen to His voice? Well, not to hear is to remain in eternal death: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). But to hear is life: “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). Christ’s words define the person who belongs to Him. So, he or she who belongs Him is who “hears my word and believes him who sent me.”
This was Richard. You see, it doesn’t take any good work to receive salvation. It doesn’t take any special skill. All it takes is belief.
We receive this free gift of eternal life through Christ’s sacrificial death upon the cross and His resurrection from the dead on behalf of all sinners, you and me. You see, although He knew no sin, He took on our sin, so by grace through faith in Christ we would be forgiven of all our sins against God in thought, word, and deed. It is only through Christ, that we have become inheritors of eternal life!
This truth is expressed
in one of Richard’s favorite hymns “How Great Thou Art”:
But when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in –
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin;
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art! (LSB 801, stanza 3)
[Eternal Peace]
Through Christ alone, we are forgiven and we have eternal life here and now! This eternal life is under God’s grace and favor and continues right through physical death.
Today, Richard and all the saints in the Church Triumphant are at eternal peace as they are in the presence of their Lord! You see, for everyone in heaven, they are at eternal peace as they face no more hunger, no more thirst, no more pain, and no more sorrow. Richard is living eternal bliss as a saint.
By first hearing and then believing in Jesus, Richard and all the saints in the Church Triumphant have truly passed from death to life. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
T SOLI DEO GLORIA T
Richard Smith's Obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/richard-william-smith/
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