There’s an amazing story about Jesus and a man named Jairus. Jairus was a religious leader, one of the rulers of the Jewish synagogue. At that time, that would have made him unlikely to go see someone like Jesus. But Jairus went.

He went because his daughter was very sick. He went because he was desperate. He went because he considered Jesus to be his only hope.

Jairus was able to convince Jesus to come to his house. But while they were on the way, someone came with terrible news: Jairus’ daughter was dead. All hope was now gone. Or so Jairus must have thought.

But Jesus thought otherwise. He said to the grieving father: “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” (Luke 8:50)

When they arrived at Jairus’ house, people were standing outside, crying. Jesus told them: “She is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at him, because everyone knew she was dead.

Except Jesus. That is, he knew she was dead. But he also knew that she wouldn’t stay that way. Jesus went to the girl, took her by the hand, and told her to get up. And the young girl did!

It’s a beautiful story. As a father, I guess I hear it differently than I once did. I can imagine if my daughter were desperately ill, how hopeless I would feel. And I don’t even want to try and imagine how I would feel if she passed away.

But I know that Jesus’ words would ring in my ears: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

More than 80 times in the Bible, people are told “Don’t be afraid.” Fear is a common element of our human condition. And there’s probably no greater fear than the fear of death. One New Testament writer wrote that Jesus came to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:15)

As we find ourselves facing the imminent death of someone we love or even our own death, that’s the time we need to hear Jesus’ words: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Because even when the worst happens, Jesus can say, “They’re not dead but asleep.” He is able to take even the dead by the hand and wake them up. If we only believe.

Don’t be afraid. Just believe.

I was told yesterday that Mrs. Scott went to be with the Lord that morning. You will note that even after all these years it was and still is Brother and Mrs. Scott. I have been thinking a lot about both of them since receiving that news. And about their Legacy.
I was a young, immature know it all when I came to Freed Hardeman College in the summer of 1967. Hopefully I have grown out of at least two of those afore mentioned items. That summer I enrolled in your Dad’s world history class and entered a world of discovery. As a result I think I took every class your Dad offered into Acts and Church History. I also had the opportunity to have your Mom for British Literature when I learned the prologue to the “Cranberry” Tales. (my name for them). Which to this day I try to work those words into many of my presentations (I learned it so I want to use it).
As you already know, both of your parents worked with me on my commentaries on WFHC-FM. I would write, they would comment in red, I would rewrite, they would comment in red again and finally when they approved, I would record and air the result of our collaborations. There were times when it wasn’t so pleasant, probably for all three of us, but we kept at it.
When I came to Herald of Truth one of the first things I noted as I looked at our donor base was your Mom’s name. In fact I wrote on her receipt asking if she had taught at Freed and in fact had she been my teacher. Her response was that in fact she was. For 29 years your parents contributed to the work of Herald of Truth, most of that time sending their gifts monthly.
Your parent’s legacy is multifaceted. They have helped more people know Jesus through their gifts of money to Herald of Truth, their local church and numerous other efforts that they championed. They taught students not just the facts of their respective disciplines, but also about God and His Son.
There is a personal legacy that I hold. For they shared with me a quiet determination to finish even when things become unpleasant. They shared with me a sense of discovery and appreciation for things that I view as different. They shared their time, energy and counsel with a young, immature, know it all, who years later still cherishes those memories.
You already know these things from your personal closeness to your family. I hope knowing that when your Mom joins your Dad in Heaven, there will be people there they know and then someone will approach them and say: “ you don’t know me, but you taught so in so, and they taught so in so, and they taught so in so, who taught me about Jesus. So I wanted to thank you for sharing your faith with all of us.” I pray that this will ease a bit of the loss you feel.

We should acknowledge those influences before the eulogies. Why do we want until after someone dies to acknowledge what they meant to us? Shouldn’t we tell them before we unable to tell them?
Whom do you need to honor? What did they do to make your life different?

Despite its great size, the house can be considered unfinished in many ways. There are dozens of doors that open on blank walls, others with knobs on only one side and inside doors with screens on them. There are stairways that reach no destination, chimneys with no stoves, and floors that you can see through.

The construction shows a fascination with the number 13. All the stairways are constructed in series of 13 steps. The chandeliers all have 13 lights. Every wall has 13 panels. Each glass door has 13 pieces.

Who would build such a house?

The mansion was built by Sarah Winchester, the widow of William Winchester (of the Winchester family that owned the famous rifle company). The June 1937 issue of Modern Mechanix states that, after the death of her husband and infant daughter, Winchester was told by a medium that she must build a house that was never completed; if the house were ever completed, Sarah Winchester would die.

Because of this, the fearful widow maintained her house in a constant state of construction. Her attempt to avoid death failed, of course. On September 5, 1922, Sarah Winchester died. Work immediately stopped on the house, and it remains as a monument to one woman’s fear of death.

Was Sarah Winchester the only person afraid of dying? How many others would do whatever it takes to avoid the inevitable?

A favorite passage of mine is found in Hebrews, and it talks about that very fear: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14-15) Jesus came to free everyone held captive by the fear of death.

Jesus has defeated death, and he invites us to share in his victory. There is no need to live fearing death. We have a champion who can rescue us from that fear.

Building a house can’t free us from death. Building a relationship with Jesus will do just that.

“Must, must, must – all of us get in our minds that this world is not our home, and that life, at best, is transitory.”

As believers in an Almighty God we mentally, sometimes verbally, and even on rare occasions orally acknowledge the faith we confidently hope to see His face in heaven as promised in Revelation 22:4.

Yet we live our lives as if our earthly existence is the only place we’ll ever live. We are supposed to be in the world but not of the world. As followers of the Messiah, we are to be different, with our focus on heaven. Not on a car, a job, or a house in the “good” neighborhood.

I am reminded of the words Albert Brumley penned in 1937:

This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

The images of being pilgrims, strangers, wanderers in this world are in both the Old and New Testaments. That the journey is not complete until we are with Jehovah Raffa as described in Revelation 21. So what about the here and now? How do we exist on this side of Heaven? The words of Jesus reverberate through the centuries: “I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” John 17: 14-15.

It seems most opportune that as a new year begins, we must recalibrate our perspectives and live as if we truly believe that “life, at best, is transitory” and being with God is where we want to live.

So how do we recalibrate? How do you prepare to be a pilgrim in a land that is not your home? What does that really mean? Yeah I got the questions, it’s the answers that keep me searching. Let me know what you think.