The other week, a group of us from Camp Joy sang one of our devotions songs at the funeral of the mother of one of the men in the program. I call it “The Heaven Song,” and it’s probably one of my favorites.
He is Lord
He is Lord, for Christ has risen
From the dead, and He is Lord.
And every knee shall bow
And every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord.
In good times and bad times
Happy or sad times, God deserves the honor
And He deserves your praise
No matter your circumstance
You better find a way to thank the Lord, the Lord
And thank Him for all He has done.
Heaven shall be sweeter all the time
Heaven shall be always on my mind
I know someday
I’m gonna leave this world behind
And that is why, Heaven shall be sweeter all the time
And t’s a privilege to walk with my sweet Lord
Once I was lost, Jesus came into my life
He gave me love, power, peace, and joy
And that is why
Heaven shall be sweeter all the time
At the funeral, when I first I looked into the wooden casket, I saw a body. However, then the family started sharing about Angelo’s mother. They showed pictures of her and talked of her passion for the Lord and her family. They told of her self-sacrificial life and her laugh; They shed tears as they told us how dearly they missed her and the impact she made in their lives. Tears welled in my eyes, for I no longer just saw a body in a casket, I saw a life.
I saw a mother, a friend, and a shoulder to cry on. I saw a grandma who sneaked an extra cookie to her grandkids after dessert and I saw a room full of family and laughter due to this woman’s hospitality, joy, and love. I saw a sister who loved to share life, and I saw a mother, full of joy, who would smile as she hugged her son with pride in her eyes as she had watched God turn his life around. Through the stories of her family, I no longer saw a body, but instead I saw life, a beautiful and precious life that the Lord placed on this earth 62 years ago to radiate His light, to live out His love, and to be a His hands and feet here in Capetown.
And the beautiful thing about life? It is. Life is not a past tense, but a present one. And this woman? She IS alive, full of true life in heaven, joyfully worshipping her Creator and Father, free from the pains of this world and reveling in the glory and majesty of her Almighty God. And she never has to stop, ever.
The tears slowly streamed down my face as this reality overcame me- the reality of our God and of our eternal life with Him, the reality of a hope far greater than any pain or sadness, of a joy more full than the anything we’ve ever experienced, and of a life more real and than we can possible imagine. And the reality is that life is ours, it’s real, and it’s coming. And it doesn’t end at death…no, I think that is when our lives truly begin.
And that, I believe, makes heaven be sweeter all the time.
{ps so I’m not super tech savy, but as soon as I can figure out how to post a recording on here, I plan on adding the recording of the guys singing- it’s AMAZING!}
