Reflections On The Death Of My Childhood Friend

Last night I was asked to share a few thoughts at a memorial service for one of my childhood friends. Ramie and I attended kindergarten through high school together. He was my friend and now, at age 42, he is with Jesus.

He leaves behind two beautiful little girls, a grieving mother, and a host of friends. He leaves behind precious children that he instructed and influenced through his work. And he left behind something else for me…a reminder that life is brief and we have a short time to make it count.

Since his home going I have been thinking about Moses’ words in Psalm 90:10, life “is soon cut off, and we fly away.” Last week I noticed a timbering project going on in our area. On a distant ridge a host of trees had been cut down. And then I noticed the one left standing. Why?

Why are some trees cut down and others allowed to stand? Why are some people cut off early in life and others continue to live? Why is my friend gone at middle age and I am still here?

There are some things we cannot understand. One thing is sure: someday we all will be cut down. Though the winds of adversity may blow we must continue to stand and bear fruit as long as we can.

On my way to the service last night I was meditating on all of this, and suddenly the Lord brought another verse to my mind, “Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Psalm 92:13).

God’s people are never really cut down – that is only the perspective from those of us who live in time. The Lord simply chooses to uproot us from this world and replant us in His own eternal presence. Some just get replanted sooner than others.

My childhood friend was not cut down in his prime as many would like to think. He has been planted in the Lord’s house and is flourishing as never before in that place. Perhaps you are struggling with the death of some friend or family member. May God give you the grace to see the one you love from the standpoint of eternity.

We will meet again.