THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

On Friday we laid the ashes of our sister Lisa to rest. Surrounded by family, the remains of her body were interred before a man-made lake. It’s a beautiful site; she would have liked it. But Lisa is not there; she is in heaven with Jesus Her Savior and Lord. The grave is merely a symbol of her presence; it’s not her place of abode.

When I think of Lisa there is one word that comes to mind: truthful. She did not mince her words; she would say it as it was. What came out of her mouth were words that we could find in her heart. She knew the greatest disservice she could do to others was not telling the truth. So, she told the truth—whatever she felt and thought.

Being truthful is a rare quality these days. Instead of giving people the truth, we opt to give people impression. We do our best to make people think of us in a certain way—positive and good. Lisa did not try to impress people; instead, she allowed people to see her as she was. She knew the least she could be was to be herself.

The evening before I left for Indonesia, Lisa was baptized. Even though she had been a follower of Christ since childhood, she had never gotten around to be baptized. Initially she said, she wanted to do it after I returned from my trip but somehow, she changed her mind. Surrounded by family she was baptized on Thursday, Sept 20.

It’s hard to forget how she looked that evening, but maybe this word would best describe her countenance after baptism: angelic. Somehow her face was just so radiant and full of peace. I cannot explain what happened and why the change. The only thing I could think of was just she must have met God that night! Jesus Our Lord had revealed Himself to her in a special way.

Pastor Paul