We sit crammed in like sardines, in chairs shoulder to shoulder at the funeral home waiting for the services to begin.

Many, have come to celebrate the amazing life of Alvie Hurst. This man who lived a life to glorify Christ. A man with the voice of an angel.

We’ve come not only to celebrate his life, but to hear from heaven.

Death has this gift of penetrating through your hard, exteriors and navigating to the part of your heart that is open and longing for comfort from its Creator.

My father has been asked to speak. There is no better way to get your attention than to have a sick man give a eulogy.

As my father weakly walks up to the podium we are all stunned with the reality of the situation.

Just three months prior, Alvie, (his cousin and best bud), was the one coaching, praying and spurring my dad on in the faith during his fight with cancer.

And here we sit in shock that he was also diagnosed and taken before our dad.

Uncle Alive’s service was beautiful, but we are still reeling from it all.

We are trying to pray our dad through his pain and suffering, and all of this has me grappling with the fact of my own mortality.

Death has this uninviting way of making its announcement to the fact that we are all terminal.

The goal of this life has always been to glorify Christ and to go home. We just choose to put a firm, clasp on this life– run, hide, self-medicate and make it all about us and the right now.

But what about when life and illness intrude and we are forced to deal? When we can’t run?

A few weeks ago my father and I turned to the scriptures for answers and hope.

We read Hebrews 11, the chapter on the heroes of the faith. We wanted to know how they did it despite hardship and loss.

It speaks of Noah, Abraham, Moses (many more) and you get the clear picture they dealt with the hard stuff just like us.

As God was asking Abraham to leave everything he ever knew and go to a place he’d never been to, it says he obeyed because “he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

It mentions a few times about these men and women looking ahead to their reward.

I turn the page to Hebrews 12:2 where it speaks of Christ getting ready to be crucified, facing death.

 Who for the joy set before him endured the cross.

The Message version says: He never lost sight of where he was headed.

Whoa.

Friends–could our problem be not that we get sick and die, but rather we lose our sight and forget where we are headed?

If death is going to command our attention, (and it will), will we pay attention to what God wants to say, (teach) us, during these times?

You will seek me, and find me, when you seek (look) for me with all of your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

I’ve realized the heroes of the faith weren’t heroes because they never doubted, sinned or messed up.

They were heroes, because despite falling and doubting greatly at times, they never stopped looking for God or towards the goal of this life: heaven.

They never stopped believing that He had something greater planned for them.

Uncle Alvie believed that and he told my dad so.

He said, “Johnny, whether we stay or go, we are winners either way.”

He chose to see. He chose to look up. He never lost sight to where he was headed.

My favorite verse from this chapter:

Hebrews 11:13-15 (The Message)

How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home.

May we choose to see friends, even when everything is blurry.

May we believe that this earth is not all there is, even when it appears that way.

May we keep looking ahead to our reward, the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Our True Home.

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