Romans 14:8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Cheryl and I spent the month of November in Frankfurt, Germany. While we were there, we received word that a friend of ours entered the presence of his Savior. He was a fellow pastor, a contemporary of our fathers. He faithfully served a congregation for 33 years in the town where we lived, six months longer than I served the members of Grace, Denison. He retired at the age of 65, and lived another 30 years after that!

He was a kind, gracious and gentle man who loved Jesus and shared Him with passion and compassion. He grew up in the Norwegian Lutheran Church, which became part of the American Lutheran Church in 1960 and then the ELCA in 1988. In our conversations, we found that our faith and understanding of Scripture were nearly identical. We shared the confidence that even though we are poor, miserable sinners, Jesus took our sins on Himself, paid the penalty with His innocent suffering and death, and gave us forgiveness and life that we did not deserve. This man was my brother in Christ.

Last week we were able to visit his wife. She taught in the elementary school that all three of our daughters attended. She and her husband had come to the hospital in Dallas to visit us right after my father died 33 years ago. While we did not see them often, they remained very special people in our lives.

As we were visiting and reminiscing, I shared a devotion with her, the passage above, and a prayer. She was very upbeat, smiling and spoke of her confidence that her dear husband with now with his Lord and she looked forward to joining him soon.

Revelation 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Well done, good and faithful servant.