death

o Father, may You love me,
and count me reconciled,
forever thinking of me
as your devoted child.
and death is but a slumber,
sweet rest when all is done
awakened by the wonder
of Your returning Son...

i am always moved when we sing this hymn. we admit our frailties. we beg that our repentant prayers be heard as we lay bare our hearts. despite our unworthiness, we have the sure faith that God will always wait for us to draw near to Him.

i found out from pb that one of the ministers i know just passed away yesterday. he was battling cancer. while i was visiting the redwood city congregation last december, the brethren were amazed that he had enough strength to go up the tribuna during the worship service and lead a prayer. he used to be our district minister when i was in philadelphia. a decade ago, he was a youthful, charismatic minister. the person i saw last december was just a shadow of him. but for us, death is just a slumber..