Our Only Comfort

"What is my only comfort in life and death?" 

"That I am not my own,
but belong -
              body and soul,
              in life and in death -
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
              He has fully paid for all my sins
                          with his precious blood,
              and has set me free from the tyranny
                           of the devil.
              He also watches over me in such a way
              that not a hair can fall from my head
              without the will of my Father in heaven;
              in fact, all things must work together
                            for my salvation.
Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me whole-heartedly
               willing and ready
from now on to live for him."

These words from the Heidelberg Catechism were printed in the order of service for my grandpa's funeral this past week. His passing was sad, yet not unexpected. I spent the past couple of days with family, and enjoyed sharing memories and funny stories of grandpa...of which there were many. I also enjoyed looking through some old photos of my grandpa, grandma, and their kids while they were growing up. Doing so reminded me again of how blessed I am to have the family I do. In recent years my grandpa referred to me on a couple of occasions as "an unclaimed jewel". Few words have ever made me feel so special.

I know my grandpa wasn't perfect, and I'm sure he faced many more challenges and difficulties in his life than I ever knew. At the end though, there is no doubt that he knew he belonged "body and soul, in life and in death", to Christ, not because of anything he had done, but only because Christ paid for his sins. Those of us left here, then, take comfort in that while we will miss grandpa's jokes and stories, we know he was greeted by Jesus with the words "Well done, good and faithful servant".