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"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18
The last couple of years of his life, my father went from medical crisis to medical crisis. His kidneys had failed, so he was on dialysis, and he had about 10% heart function. He never felt good, only varying degrees of bad. Yet through it all he maintained a rock solid faith in God and an unwaveringly positive outlook on life because he knew what lay ahead for him. After his present suffering was over with, he would go home to be with Jesus in a place where there would be no more pain, no more tears, no more suffering.
I will never forget standing by his bedside just before he was to go in for a risky procedure. His doctors estimated he had less than a 50% chance of surviving the surgery, but if they didn't do it, he would die. I suppose you are never really ready to let go of someone you love... you just want a little more time with them. Standing by his side that day, despite my best efforts, tears filled my eyes as the time approached for the surgery.
When the hospital workers came to get him a terrible sense of fear and dread came over me. We walked down the hall in silence beside his bed as they rolled him toward the surgical suite. When we reached the point where we could go no further with him, the nurses and technicians stepped aside so we could say our goodbyes. I was paralyzed. I couldn't say a word. How many times had I, as a pastor, stood with a family in this same situation? I always had a ready word of comfort and encouragement. But this was different. This was my father, and I was having to face the very real possibility that I was saying goodbye to him for the last time.
Choking back tears, I bent down to kiss him on the cheek. "I love you, Dad." I barely got the words out. Then he softly whispered to me, "Either way... I win." He was smiling as they wheeled him away.
His words were an echo of the Apostle Paul who told his beloved friends in the Philippian church: "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Phil 1:21). If he lived, Paul would get to tell more people about Jesus. If they killed him, he would get to go to heaven and be with Jesus for eternity. "Either way... I win."
Dad made it through the procedure that day, and we had him with us for another nine months before his body finally gave out. Surrounded by all five of his children and his wife, he softly slipped into the loving arms of Jesus. As he quietly stopped breathing, we held hands around his bedside and sang his favorite hymn:
"I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in his arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms!"
Have you ever noticed that many of the references to heaven in the New Testament are accompanied by a sentence that says "comfort each other with these words"? Shortly after he passed, someone told me, "I'm sorry I you lost my father."
"I didn't lose him" I replied, "I know exactly where he is." What a comfort it is to know my father, and all my friends and loved ones who placed their faith in trust in Jesus are in heaven with Him now.
Whatever you are going through now - whatever your "present sufferings" are - know that they are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Either way... we win!
Alan Riley
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