An Eulogy For Uncle Frankie – The Saturday Morning Post
Today’s Reading – Psalms 26 – 31 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 1 Peter 1 – 5; Psalms 101 – 105; Proverbs 21)
“In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.” (Psalm 31:1-5)
We buried my Uncle, Franklyn Lyons, yesterday. I think that these five verses from Psalm 31 will give you a glimpse of how Uncle Frankie was. In my eyes, He was a man of God. And there are three facts that Uncle Frankie would want you to know about his life and death.
The first is that Uncle Frankie is not laying in the coffin. His soul (who Uncle Frankie is) is safely in the hands of Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote in his second epistle to the Corinthian church…
“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2Corinthians 5:8)
And Jesus had told one of the two thieves who was hanging on the cross next to Him, “…To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
What you see in the coffin is the aches and pains of old age. What you see in the coffin is the gangrene and cancer. What you see in the coffin is the diabetes. But Uncle Frankie wants you to know that is not him. Last Sunday, around 5:00 pm, He entered Paradise: he is in Heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The second fact that Uncle Frankie would like you to know is that he is in Heaven because of God’s grace, and nothing else. Uncle Frankie dropped out of school after 8th Grade to help support his family. He served his country during World War 2, in the Army Air Corp, stationed in England. He took care of his mother till she died. Uncle Frankie would take me, Grandma, and my mother to church at the Assembly of God, in Toms River every week. He would balsa wood planes and give them to his nieces and nephews. When he retired, Uncle Frankie would read his Bible through, cover to cover, several times a year. And Uncle Frankie knew that all those things would not get him into heaven, only God’s grace…
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
He needed Jesus. As a child, or young man, someone told him about Jesus, and he asked Jesus to save him. And Uncle Frankie wants you to know that he is in Heaven by God’s grace.
The third fact that Uncle Frankie wants you to know is that life on earth is not forever. Heaven and Hell are forever, and he would like to see you again one day in Heaven. Jesus said, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
And the Bible tells us how. Realize you are a sinner.
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one…” (Romans 3:10)
AND
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23)
And because we are sinners, we need a Saviour: we cannot save ourselves.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Jesus shed is precious blood to pay the price for our sins…
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
He took the hard part and gave us the easy part…
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
If you are saved, if you have received Jesus as your personal Saviour, then one day you will see Uncle Frankie again, or meet him for the first time. Jesus said…
“…I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live…” (John 11:25)
Peace! (Matthew 5:16)
Posted in Devotions by Pastor Ted Stahl with 1 comment.
Praise God for his grace.