I Believe In The Resurrection.

Jeffrey was a good man. Friends spoke highly of him. He had been a loyal and caring son to his mother after his father’s untimely death from a heart attack when he and his twin brother were only 14. He visited her every day, even after his marriage, and ensured she had the best care when she fell victim to a stroke. He loved his wife and children, and when his second child was born blind, he told his distraught son that God had given this baby to their family because he knew they would love and care for her.

Yet, Jeffrey did not go to church, or profess a belief in God. Each Sunday, he watched as his wife and daughter left the house, but he would stay at home preparing vegetables for dinner, washing the car, or doing some other job about the house. He was a provider and a carer, meeting the needs of widowed relatives and friends, always putting the requirements of others before his own.

By day, he worked as a pest control officer, ridding the locality of vermin. In the evenings, he earned extra money as a painter and decorator. He always ensured his family had enough, and took his role as the provider very seriously. Onlookers saw Jeffrey living like a Christian, but he simply could not bring himself to believe.

When his daughter grew up and began to question him, she learned there were two major issues. Firstly, he couldn’t accept a God who gave his people free will, all the while knowing they would fall into sin. He thought it would have been better if Adam and Eve hadn’t been given the option of disobeying God. He couldn’t understand that God wants his people to love him out of choice, not by force. Secondly, although he maintained Jesus Christ was a real man who walked the earth and was killed by crucifixion, he could not accept the truth of the resurrection. He felt this story was made up by Jesus’ followers at a later date.

Many Christian friends tried talking to Jeffrey, and although he enjoyed healthy debate, he would not give in and surrender his life to the Lord. When his health began to fail and he was forced to give up work, he threw himself even more into caring for the needs of others. He even began mowing the grass at the church his wife attended. When a new church was built to replace the old, he was the first up a ladder with paintbrush in hand. He waited on tables at Alpha suppers, and accepted a Polish Christian student into his home for several weeks, treating her like one of the family, but his wife and daughter knew all these good deeds would not get him into heaven, and as his health grew worse, they began to worry.

During the final years of his life, Jeffrey had a couple of minor strokes and at least 2 heart attacks. Eventually, he went into heart failure, and being the consummate provider, he began making plans for a time when he would no longer be able to see to the needs of his family. He ensured everything in the home was as his wife wanted it, all the while not fully understanding her greatest concern was for his soul.

During the summer of 2017, it became apparent Jeffrey’s time on this earth was drawing to an end. He was hospitalised for a long period, after which he was never fully able to walk again. His heart was becoming weaker, and, being a man who never shied away from the truth, he knew what that meant. His wife and daughter began pleading with the Lord, fearing the worst. They asked others to pray, and a couple of words were given assuring them that Jesus was working all things together for Jeffrey’s good.

Finally, on one particularly scary day, when they almost lost him, Jeffrey admitted that he had been praying. Later that same day, a Christian friend visited his bedside, and asked if he wished to pray the prayer of salvation. And finally, this stubborn but wonderful man gave his heart to Jesus. Just days later, as his wife was helping him in the bathroom, he announced: “I believe in the resurrection!” The work was done. Now, Jeffrey belonged to Jesus, who had died and risen from the dead to save him from his sins.

Jeffrey went home to be with the Lord on 22 November 2017, and although he is greatly missed, we all know where he is. When we think of him, and since he was my dad, we think of him often, we are reminded that he is now rejoicing in heaven in the presence of our Saviour. Jeffrey believed in the resurrection, and is now enjoying its fruit. One day, I will hug him again, and we’ll sing together around God’s throne.