--my heart is heavy

I do not have a lot of words to say tonight. My Meemau[aka my great-grandmother] is dying of cancer. She is 92 almost 93 years old, and she is not saved. I have dreaded the day that I would lose her and it seems to be quickly approaching. She has always been invincible to me. She has been through many very difficult and serious illnesses in the past and has come through by the grace of God. Each time I have hoped that those experiences of near death would draw her to a saving grace in Jesus. It's a difficult subject to approach with her. She is a very stubborn, opinionated and set in her ways woman. She thinks that my family[who are Southern Baptists] believe that only Southern Baptists go to heaven. My dad has tried to explain to her[and she is Lutheran] that we do not believe that. We have tried to make it clear that anyone who acknowledges that they are a sinner, asks for forgiveness for their sins and then puts their trust in Jesus as their personal Savior is saved. I've also had a cousin who is a missionary attempt to witness to her, which only made her defensive because she was put off by the fact that he thought she was not saved and then in front of her got down on his knees and prayed for her salvation[this story coming from her] So my prayer and hope tonight and until the time that the breath leaves her body that she will come to have that saving knowledge in Jesus. That she will give her life to Him. I cannot imagine not ever seeing her again. The joy that would fill my heart knowing I would see her again in heaven would be so incredible. I cannot even explain it. So that is why my heart is so heavy right now. The end is near and it could lead to separation forever. My heart could not take that. I cannot and do not even want to think about it. It hurts my heart to think about it. I have the peace and joy in my heart knowing that I will see my parents, brother, grandparents, and other family members in friends in heaven someday. It is so hard for me to see how anyone could not believe in God. He is so evident in everything. The beauty of a sunrise or the majesty of the oceans. The intricacies of the human body. The miracle of the birth of a baby. My mind cannot grasp how any person could even come up with something so intricate and make it work for thousands of years. God is so amazing. To think the Creator of the world loved me so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, down to earth. He became man. How low he went to do something that no man could do for himself. He came to live a perfect life that led to the perfect sacrifice and payment for our sins. Because the Bible says that:

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"

Romans 6:23.

We all deserve to die. To put it bluntly. We do. We are all sinners. We are not worthy to even talk to God and enter into His kingdom. Yet God in His great goodness saw fit to do something that no person on earth would ever have the power to do or the amount of love that He
has for us. He sent His only Son! Yes, I'm being redundant, but sometimes people forget who God is and what He's done for us. I forget it everyday. It's something that needs to be hammered into our heads and drilled into our hearts. God loves us. The lowly beings that we
are. The wonderful thing is that God's love is free. God's love is given freely to those who accept the gift of salvation. That is the greatest gift that anyone could ever receive. The gift that gives us full access to God. The relationship that He wants to have with us because we are His children. That relationship that will lead us to an eternal life with Him. I cannot even begin to imagine what heaven will be like. I can just picture a bunch of angelic-like beings in white robes all praising God and singing His praises forever. Hey I can live with that! I'll sing of His love forever. It just weighs on my heart so much how many people that are rejecting that gift because they do not think that they are in need of a Savior. People think that if they just do good works, that is their key to heaven. Doing good works is not going to get a person into heaven. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 No matter how many good works we do, it is not even going to get anywhere close to covering the payment of our sins. The Bible makes it very clear that we are saved only through faith in Jesus. We are, once we make that decision to live for Christ, to do things for the Lord to bring praise to His name and to use the gifts and talents that He has given us to share His love with everyone we meet. These "good works" are not earning our salvation, because Jesus already paid for that on the cross. These works are for showing our love, obedience, and honor to God for what He has done for us. "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17 He wants us to give of our time and talents to help others and to show His love to the world. That is the whole purpose of evangelism. It is to share the message of the Gospel with the world. And that does not just mean sharing it with people in different countries. There are people in our own backyards, workplaces, schools, and families who need to hear the message about Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. There are so many hurting people who need to hear about the Hope of a Savior who loves them and only wants their best. The peace that comes over you when you know your sins have been washed away and the God of the universe loves you and wants you as a child is so amazing. He is the only One who will never let us down. It's hard to think about that because as imperfect beings we will inevitably let one another down. But God will never let you down. He promises us that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

So my prayer tonight is that my life will be more of an example of Christ's love, and that the words I have written are not misleading but pointing only in the direction of the cross and saving grace of Jesus Christ. I also pray for the salvation of my Meemau. I can't imagine not seeing the one's I love again in heaven. It burdens my heart for my family and friends who do not know Him. I just hope that I can be an encouragement to those who do not have that relationship to make that step...because it's the MOST important decision a person will ever make. It's not an easy road, but it's definitely the best one and the one with the greatest reward, eternal life with our Savior in heaven.