Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: end of life

to the end — August 12, 2026

to the end

/pickleheavenpress

I had a good friend who had a terminal disease.  His immune system was shot, and the doctor ordered him to remain at home to avoid people who might infect him.  But then my wife happened to run into him at Wal-Mart.

She asked him why he was out.  He said, “I don’t want my tombstone to say, ‘He was cautious!’”

Like my friend, there are some of us who are very aware that our time on earth is almost done.  Some can’t sleep because they fear they’ll never open their eyes again.  Others try to reconcile with distant family members.  Some rest in peace before they die because they know they are secure in Christ. 

Christ also lived in the shadow of His death.   What was on His mind during those days?   

John 13 begins the telling of the Last Supper.  This, of course, was the last meal that Jesus would share with His disciples before His crucifixion.  His execution would take place only hours later. 

The Apostle John wrote, “Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from this world to the Father” – John 13:1. No question here, Jesus clearly understood that the time of His crucifixion had arrived.  

John continued saying, “(Jesus) Having loved his own who were in the world…”   

That is quite an amazing statement.  Jesus loved – who?  Well, those who were gathered around that table. 

They had left everything for Him.  They shared countless adventures together; they saw the glory of God penetrate the gloom of Israel; and together they suffered rejection.  They were a tight bunch, and Jesus had loved them well. 

Then John completed his sentence by saying, “He now loved them to the very end.”  His end was near, but His mind was focused on this group of people that he dearly loved.  This is quite amazing for at least two reasons.

One: Jesus was thinking of others when most would be centered on themselves.

And Two: Those disciples were going to disappoint Jesus over the next few hours.

They eventually left the supper that night to retreat to an olive grove called Gethsemane.  Jesus took His inner circle: Peter, James and John with Him, and asked them to watch while He prayed and wrestled with the Father over His crucifixion. 

It would be incredibly stressful for Jesus and He wanted them to be with Him and to pray for Him, but they fell asleep instead.  Jesus was deeply disappointed, but His love for them persisted.

Judas had been present at that meal.  But at Gethsemane he would betray the one that loved him with a meaningless middle-eastern kiss on His cheek.  A heartless betrayal, and yet Jesus would love even that man to the end. 

Jesus was apprehended in the garden and His hands were bound as they led Him away like a sheep to slaughter.  The disciples vanished like roaches when the lights come on.  It was every man for himself.  And yet Jesus’ love for them endured to the end.   

And then of course there was Peter, who covertly slipped into the courtyard of the home where Jesus was on trial.  Three times Peter denied knowing His master, when in fact he probably knew him better than most anyone else. But even Peter was loved by Jesus till the very end.

Jesus threw caution to the wind and loved His own – His ungrateful, unreliable, unpredictable own – until the end.  How comforting it is to know that He loves you and me with that same unrelenting love. 

Paul wrote, “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 8:38-39.

A PRAYER: Lord, thank you; thank you; thank you for such love.

God bless you!

Scripture is quoted from the NETBible ®

suffering and string trimmers — August 11, 2021

suffering and string trimmers

/pickleheavenpress

I have a string trimmer to tidy up my lawn.  It taunts me!  When it was new, it was ridiculously stingy in feeding out the line.  Frequently the line would break off so that I had to manually take the trimmer apart and pull out more.

Recently it has felt the need to atone for its sins.  It now feeds out the line with insane generosity – 3 times more than what I need.  Now it gets all tangled and I must frequently stop and stuff it all back in.   

When I get to heaven, I may need to apologize for the things I have said about person who engineered that thing.

Now before you start a GoFundMe page for poor Jim, please know that I have sufficient funds to replace it. I’m just cheap.

But I will say this.  Most every time I trim, I begin with a prayer, “Lord please let this be the day this thing bites the dust so that I’m forced to buy a new one.”

______________________

Sadly, I have a few friends that pray that same type of prayer. 

Their bodies are old and frail and their minds sluggish.  Some endure diseases they can’t pronounce.  Most feel useless – a burden to their families. 

In their beds, they lay and pray, “Lord take me home. Take this old body and give me a new one.”  They understand heaven and are frustrated that they must suffer and wait.

Because I am a chaplain, they sometimes ask, “Why does God keep me here?”  I tell them, “It may not be about you.”  

Your kids need an example: 

When you were younger, they watched you and learned how to work hard, and manage their money and how to treat their mate.  By example you taught them how to live well. 

Now they need to be taught how to die well.  They need to understand how your faith sustains you though your body is failing.  It was Paul that said, “Show yourself to be an example of good works in every way.”  (Titus 1:7)

The unconvinced need proof: 

The unsaved in your circle of friends and family need to see the divine spark in your faith.  I think of the thief, who watched Jesus on the cross.  The man began the episode as a mocker but was quickly gripped by the way that Jesus suffered. 

Peter described Jesus in this way, “When he was maligned, he did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly.”   (1 Peter 2:23.)  The thief was divinely drawn to this person who handled His suffering with such grace.  You have prayed for your family and friends for years.  It may be the way you handle your final days that finally wins them to Jesus.

Through suffering we draw nearer to Jesus: 

Paul coveted something he called “the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.”  He wrote in Philippians 3:10, “My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death.”  

Shared experiences, especially difficult ones, bind people together.  To suffer is to join Jesus’ unique fraternity of faith.  It is there that we find Jesus to be sweeter and more precious than ever before. 

You kids need to grow up: 

A good parent teaches their kids to take responsibility – for their room, their car, their job and so on.  It’s time that they learn to take responsibility for an aging parent.   The Lord was clear on this matter.  1 Timothy 5:8 says, “But if someone does not provide for his own, especially his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”   It’s true.  As we age, we certainly do become burdens – but burdens that God expects our children to shoulder.

BUT are you useless?  Far from it!  God is using you and your circumstances to accomplish rich things in the lives of others. 

“Why is God keeping you around?”  It’s not about you.  So, trust Him as you have in the past and endure with patience and grace until He calls you home.  

A PRAYER: Lord help me to suffer with grace and use me to extend grace to others who suffer.

Scripture references are from the NET Bible ®