I’m currently watching a dear friend and mentor walk through his final season of physical illness. Unless the Lord does a miracle (and this is what we’re praying for), He’ll soon see Jesus.
With all his heart, this godly man wants to finish well. He’s served Jesus for more than sixty years, and he wants to cross the finish line clinging to his Savior and pointing others to Him. He has modeled what it looks like to live well, and now he wants to show us what it looks like to die well.
He wants to bring glory to God, even in his death.
Several years ago I asked my friend if he’d be willing to read my manuscripts and vet them for theological accuracy. This spring, we’ve been working through my 2027 advent devotional, What Child Is This?. When he shared his terminal diagnosis, I knew he needed to direct his remaining time and energy elsewhere.
A week after receiving his diagnosis, he emailed me.
Hi Lori,
I really want to get through all the devotions before I am incapable.
When do you need them back by?
My dear friend isn’t alone in wanting to glorify God in his death. The Bible records that the apostle Peter did too.
Peter
Jesus predicted Peter’s final obedience when he described some of the details of Peter’s last days. “When you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God” (John 5:18–19).
Then He told Peter how to glorify Him: “Follow me!”
Jesus called Peter to follow Him in strength and in weakness, in health and in sickness, in joy and in sorrow. By clinging to Jesus and walking out in faith each day God granted him, Peter would bring Him glory and point others to the Savior.
My friend
This is what my dear friend is doing. In between consultations with his panel of doctors, end-of-life meetings with his family, and bouts of ever-increasing weakness, he’s walking in faith.
Guess what he did every day last week?
He went to church to pray on site for the children and workers attending Vacation Bible school.
Slide over Peter, you’re not the only one who’s going to get a glory crown in heaven.
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12
Not everyone can vet a manuscript or minister at Vacation Bible school, but we can all glorify God with our life and our death.
Few know when our life will end, but, with or without a diagnosis, we can decide now to walk in faith all the days of our life.
When we stand before Jesus, may we be found faithful.
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What a powerful example your friend is sharing by his life and as he nears death! Thank you for inspiring me to look for more ways to honor Jesus.