LIFE IS MORE THAN A BOX by Robert Soto

LIFE IS MORE THAN A BOX by Robert Soto

February 19, 2010

Job 1:21 "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

Tonight we had our final goodbyes to a friend, a family member and a just all-round good person. She almost made it to her fifty-second birthday. In the midst of the service, I heard testimony after testimony of people that were touched by one lady's life. They talked about her faith in God and her desire to see her people come to Christ. They shared of her selflessness and her love for all people that came her way. I heard how she helped others in need and counseled others in the path they should follow. In the end it was all over and I was truly blessed by her life and the love that others had for her. As people left the building to the dining room for the reception I picked up the box with her ashes and carried them with me to the other room.

As I walked along this lonely, rainy sidewalk I looked down at that small box I was carrying and then it hit me. Was this all there was to life? Here, the essence of who my friend was in the body, had been reduced to a small box. My friend who I had I known was reduced to ashes. All she was before she went to the other side was now in a small box. Then I remembered the words of Job when he wrote, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." All she ever accomplished and all that she was, was not in a small box; and just as she came empty-handed, she will return empty-handed. She came with nothing and now she leaves with nothing. But then I was reminded of her through the words of Job when he said, "...may the name of the LORD be praised." Because at the end of life, all that we accomplish will not be compared with what is in store for us when we arrive in the presence of our Lord and Savior. As I walked with my friend in a small box, I sang a farewell song and reminded her that soon we would all be there with her in His presence.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church