“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'” Luke 23:43 NIV
This verse is a testament that as we have sinned, have asked for forgiveness and have been given forgiveness by Jesus that when we die we are in paradise with Him. The person Jesus is talking to in this verse is the thief on the cross next to His. This man had not lived life the way that he should have, he didn’t follow the teaching of Jesus. Yet, when he realized who Jesus was and is, the Messiah, he asked for forgiveness. Jesus not only forgave him but also assured him that he would be in paradise with Jesus when he died.
As much as I love the fact that Jesus is willing to forgive us of our sin and save us from eternal damnation, the part of this verse that I cling to this past week is the part where Jesus tells the man he will be in paradise that day. When I heard that my aunt had passed from this temporal life to her eternal life, it gave me comfort to know that she was in paradise that day. My aunt lived her life in the exact opposite manner than the thief on the cross, she followed the teachings of Jesus and what I remember the most about her was her commitment to Jesus.
The first memories I have of my aunt and uncle are of them taking my mother, brother and myself to church. My aunt was a no-nonsense kind of woman, who believed what she believed and wasn’t ashamed to let everyone know that she was a Christian. She was a second mother to me and was as responsible for me coming to know Jesus as my own mother was. My aunt was a strong woman of faith and I hope that I am half as bold in my walk with God as she was.
Today we will pay tribute to her, celebrate her life and then place her body at rest. Today will be hard, but I am finding comfort in knowing that I will see her again someday when I arrive in heaven. So I am not saying ‘goodbye’ to this wonderful woman, I am saying ‘see you later.’