Great Cloud of Witnesses

Ever wonder what your loved one who passed away is looking at?

I do.

Pastor Greg Laurie was speaking on heaven the other day and I caught a bit of it on the radio.

Heaven.

We all long to be there...

Yet when someone passes away abruptly we say "Gone too soon."

My friend Sally Palacios passed away from COVID in 2021. She was 46 and very full of life.

She loved Jesus and served Him so passionately.

At her service, one of the speakers said that there were a lot of children coughing and rubbing their noses during VBS (Vacation Bible School). 

She said, "Well if I get COVID, and if I pass away, at least I will know I died serving the LORD."

I do not know for certain how or when she got COVID but she understood the reality of this pandemic. 

In fact, her mom passed away from COVID months earlier...

She knew COVID could be deadly...

I prayed fervently for her.

I loved her very much although I had not seen in her in a few years...We had a friendship- a joy in Jesus-ship where if she called me or text me or either of us posted on social media about the LORD, we encouraged each other...

When she passed...I couldn't help but weep for days and days...

One day I drove Olivia to dance class and needed this time alone in the car to cry and talk to Jesus.

I prayed "God her life is over."

The LORD spoke to my heart in His still small voice, "Who said her life is over? It's only just begun"

Wow.

My mind was blown.

As a believer, we know "To be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD." This is straight Truth. (2 Cor 5:8)

However, when someone is physically gone...Their spirit has departed their body and they now have no oxygen...we immediately feel so heart broken for the family and friends and even ourselves. 

Tim entered eternity on 1/1/22. A heartbreaking phone call at 9:00am on New Year's Day. Timmed passed. I immediately started to cry and my sweet boy Isaac sad "Mommy sad. She went away."

He understood!

I cannot explain it. But somehow someway Isaac understood that our friend had passed from this life to the next.

When we think and ponder heaven, it can be easy to get weird and say "They are angels now" or "They are smiling down on us" or "They are resting in peace"

But what does the Bible say about heaven? 

Greg Laurie said recently "Your loved one who accepted Jesus is now HOME. They are home. We miss them dearly. We are homesick for a place we haven't visited yet. Like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, "There's No Place Like Home"

Yes Jesus! You are our Home. You are our true Home. We are just pilgrim's passing through.

My husband was reflecting on Tim's life. They had a friendship that spanned decades. He met Timmy Krueger when Tim was 15 and Chuck was 17. Tim went to heaven at the age of 42. 

Chuck was praying and thinking and shared something so powerful with me.

Tim was a very big baseball fan. 

Chuck shared, "God gave me an image. Tim made it to home plate. The bases were loaded. He hit the ball and he ran. He ran and ran and made it home. The coach ran out to hug him. The crowd cheered! He made it! He made it home. Well done good and faithful servant."

Who was in the crowd?

Who is up in the stands cheering?

"Therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith....who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Prior to this verse, the book of Hebrews outlines the hall of faith...many are listed by name including Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, David, Samuel, martyrs (people who died physically for their faith)... (see Hebrews 11:1-40)

The great cloud of witnesses are ALL the saints from Adam all the way through the saints who passed in 2020, 2021 and even in 2022...

Tim heard well done good and faithful servant.

Sally heard well done good and faithful servant.

The angels and saints cheered, but more awe inspiring than this is that JESUS welcomed them home.

We ARE called to run this race.

We do not know how many days on earth we will each have.

For Tim it was 42, for Sally 46, for Chuck's grandma 96, for Lenya Lusko (Pastor Levi and Jennie Lusko's daughter, it was 5. I just received a prayer request for a mom I do not know-her 2 year old daughter died suddenly this week. 2 years. Can you imagine?

God remembers our frame that we are dust. 

I confess that I am eager to meet with Jesus, kiss the feet of Jesus, worship Jesus and put my fingers in his nail printed hands than I am to see the great cloud of witnesses....Yet they will be part of the welcoming party too!

For those of you who are sports fans...you witnessed NBA teams play with no fans. You witnessed football teams play in empty stadiums. It is just not the same.

The enthusiasm and excitement crowds bring is just special...I do not have words for it.

For Tim, when he finished his race, he heard cheers. He heard the roar of angels and stampede of friends/family/saints of old cheering him on!

Well done! Well done! You made it!

What a glorious God we serve. He shows us a glimpse of heaven and images to help us understand just a teensy bit of what our loved ones are experiencing.

It is all worth it friends.

All the pain.

All the suffering.

All the trials and tests.

All the ridicule from backslidden family members.

All the tears poured out over special needs children.

All the pain from divorce.

All the stomach aches from fasting...

All the times you stayed up all night praying...

All the headaches from crying...

All the "Why God?" questions...

It will be worth it.

HE IS WORTH IT.

HE IS WORTHY!

Worthy is the lamb!