“The Spirit himself
testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs –
heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” Romans 8:16-17.
Being one of four siblings I am aware of how committed and
dedicated this sub-community in the family can be. I am extremely close with my sisters and any
of us would do anything in this world for each other. Our victories are shared in joy and our
sufferings are shared in pain. We laugh
with each other and cry for each other, as the circumstances of our lives are interconnected. We are co-siblings and co-heirs within our
family. We have been up close and
personal with having to say goodbye to one of our precious members of this
sacred community. Society rarely gives
much consideration to the loss of a sibling when measured up to losses. But Christ Jesus does…
There was a co-heir with Christ named Stephen, who was
described in the Bible as ‘a man full of
God’s grace and power’ Acts 7:8. He performed
great wonders and miracles through the Holy Spirit, being the first Christian
martyr as was recorded in the Bible. ‘The
text tells us that as the maddened crowd drew near Stephen kept his gaze
steadily upward. In the process he saw
the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s
right hand. Just before his death,
however, Stephen saw Christ standing…Christ was not only present at the right
hand of the Father, but he also was (at least in Stephen’s case) standing to
receive his faithful servant home. There
can be no greater nor more honorable reception than to have the Son of Man
standing at one’s entrance into his presence.
Steven saw the heavens opened.’
Life Application New Testament Commentary, p. 499.
…and so did my sister.
During the final two weeks of her life her gaze stayed steadily
upward. I watched her eyes narrow at
whatever was appearing to her. I
witnessed her mouth spread with smiles as she was enjoying the company of those
we could not see. Were her eyes
narrowing trying to shield Heaven’s light from the gates opening? Was her face of joy because she saw her co-sibling
rise to His feet to welcome her into the spiritual family? That must have made it easier to let go of
our hands to grab onto His hand. Christ
is aware of the pain of departing from family.
He hung on the cross and watched His mother suffer. After His resurrection, He made sure that one
of the ones to whom He appeared was His precious sibling. He understood the power of that relationship
and the Bible stays silent on their intimate exchange.
“Precious in the sight
of the LORD is the death of his saints” Psalm 116:15. This is the balm for my soul that no one ever
dies alone when in Christ. I know that
as our loved ones release our hands on earth they already have grabbed the
hands of heaven’s loved ones in eternity.
I can only imagine those final moments on earth when the thin veil
between heaven and earth is pulled back and ‘what I have only known in part…then I shall know fully.’ 1 Co
13:12b.
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