“REED” This

JC

We recently had a loss of one of our family members. My niece’s husband, JC, battled colon cancer for a little over a year. He passed from this earth on Sunday, October 17 and he was only 34 years old. As I got to thinking, I really didn’t know him that well. We had seen each other over the past several years only at family gatherings and that was usually maybe a day or so at a time with many other family members around. Then it was at least a year or two or more between those times. I knew him as a fine young man, very nice and friendly, but I didn’t know him like I would a close friend. Living far from each other and limited time spent together hindered our getting to know one another better. However, I very much wanted to attend his funeral and be there with family during this time. Debbie and I and our grand-daughter, Jordan, made the trip. Two days of driving got us there late afternoon the day before the service. We had a few hours to visit with my niece and her two children, as well as my sister, and another sister who was able to come. The service was held in a high school gymnasium the next morning and was very well attended. I was quickly realizing more of who JC was as several hundred people were filing in. His impact upon his community was evidently very big. Several of his friends since childhood and his brother shared about JC and their relationships. It was good to hear stories of his childhood as well as his early adult life and how he meant so much to his friends and family. As the minister began sharing, he shared scripture and then talked about how JC always had a concern for others. He wanted to help others and encourage them in whatever they were doing. He then said, “We need to live like JC lived.” That phrase stuck with me.

I’ve always thought about his name, “JC”, and those initials. I finally found out what they stood for on the funeral program. But in hearing them, I’ve always thought about the other “JC” I know. As the minister said that phrase, “live like JC”, the preacher inside me was ready to jump up and preach. It was a great lead-in for sharing the gospel. Yes, I could agree with “live like JC” because he lived like THE JC. He was kind, caring, concerned for others, helped others, encouraged others, and wanted the best for others. He touched others lives by treating them with love just like THE JC does. And JC did those things because he knew THE JC – Jesus Christ. He tried to do things right because that’s what Jesus Christ does and wants us to do. His life exemplified Jesus with all those who knew him. He was a loving friend to everyone. He was a loving father to his children. He was a loving husband to my niece. He was a loving son-in-law to my sister and her husband. He was a loving member of our family no matter how he was related. And he was able to love because he knows the One who first loved him.

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.”

1 John 4:7-12 NLT

I was glad I had the opportunity to attend that funeral and get to know JC better through the sharing of his friends and family. It was evident that JC lived his life loving others. I’m grateful he is a part of my family. I’m sorry I didn’t know him better here on this earth, but I’m glad I will have the opportunity to get to know him better for all eternity in heaven. Until then, I want to live like JC.

Bro. Paul Reed

Tuesday, November 2, 2021