The End of My Rope

A few years ago, Jeremy and the kiddos and I were visiting friends and attended a Sunday morning service at Valley Christian Church in Moorhead, Minnesota.  VCC was formerly led by Pastor Phil Miller, and currently by Pastor Jim Ray.  If you are looking for a church family in the Fargo-Moorhead area, I encourage you to visit VCC. It is one of a handful of “church homes” I have had in my lifetime and you will find a warm, welcoming group of people there that truly have hearts for Jesus.

Anyway, that day there was a guest speaker.  I cannot recall his name.  I’m chalking that up to Mom brain, but perhaps it is symbolic also, because it is not our names, but the works we do and the manner in which we do them that is remembered.  What we Christians should be focused on is our works glorifying our father in heaven, not each of us as individuals, but I digress, which is generally how I operate.   This is yet another one of my winding tales, which I promise will eventually lead to a worthwhile conclusion.

The speaker that day talked used a rope as a prop and it was a powerful visual.

As he began to talk he held up about six inches of the end of the rope between his hands.  This represented the amount of time we are here on earth.

I’ve been to what I would consider far too many funerals.  That time can be incredibly short, which can seem cruel and unfair at times, as I’ve said goodbye to people who were so young or taken so quickly.

But here’s the good news.

 They’re not gone, they’ve just gone ahead.

The pastor held up that rope, with just the first, short portion representing our earthly lives, and then he had his son help stretch it out.  It went from the pulpit, down along the front pew, and all the way out the door.

Even this was not enough rope to show how long our eternal lives in heaven will be.

It is spelled out in the Bible in that familiar verse, John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

It brings me great joy to hear my children recite this verse, because I know that their young hearts believe that when I’m gone from here, that I’ve just gone ahead to be with my father in heaven.

So as promised, here is the worthwhile conclusion.

Nothing is too big or too heavy for God.  Give Him your heart. Give up the weight of those sins you’ve been carrying. If you haven’t already, give your life to Christ today and let Him be your guide and He will fulfill His promise of that everlasting life that is more wonderful than we can imagine.

It is my hope that someday when I’ve gone ahead, you will remember that I was not really at the end of my rope, but only the beginning.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah J