THE REFORMED CHURCH OF TINTON FALLS
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Message from Pastor David May 2005
"What I Learned at a Funeral"
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16)
On Sunday April 24th I went to the funeral of Jenny Rix. She died at the age of 48. Of course it was very sad. Jenny was the wife of my friend Rev. Charles Rix, and the mother of their two children. Most of all however, she was a child of God. Jenny was a follower of Jesus Christ and certainly a very contagious Christian. The thing that made Jenny such a bright light for the Kingdom of God was her smile and sweet manner. No matter where you met her she was always ready with a smile and a kind word. Chie and I hated to erase her messages from our answering machine because they were always so sweet and kind. At the funeral they played the song, “I will Testify To Love” and showed a slide show featuring many pictures of Jenny. It was unmistakable, in every picture, Jenny's smile was a clear and bright testimony to the love of Jesus Christ. There were several hundred people there and most of them were crying. I knew each one of them had a story of how her kindness had touched them. Many people stood up to talk about Jenny and they mentioned her gentle, loving way. Now it might have been possible to mistakenly think that Jenny was “just born that way”. Maybe some people would say it was just a coincidence that Jenny had such a sweet “temperament”. However there was definitely a source to this fountain of love. One of the elders explained that not only was Jenny sweet, kind and loving to everyone she met, she also had an inner “cage of steel”. In other words, beneath the surface there was an unyielding frame work that supported everything that you saw on the exterior. On one occasion Jenny had been talking with this elder when suddenly their conversation was interrupted by another person. This person not only rudely interrupted the conversation but also spoke in a way that was hostile toward this elder. After the tirade he turned to Jenny and said, “Don't you agree?” To this Jenny replied, “I'll tell you what I agree with. I agree with this: 'Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.'” Then, before she walked away she said, “And I have not been benefited”. As I sat through this funeral I came to understand in a deeper way that Jenny was the way she was, not because she “happened to be sweet”, but because the Bible called her to it. That “cage of steel” was an inner conviction not only to know God's word but to put it into practice. Her life was shaped and molded the way it was because “the word of Christ dwelt richly in her”. This is what I learned: Jenny's life was an unmistakable witness to Jesus Christ because of her commitment to be molded by the word of God. I want my life to be same. How about you?
Love in Christ, Pastor David
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The Reformed Church of Tinton Falls Phone (732) 747-1285 E-mail: office@rctf.org Please contact webmaster@rctf.org for any comments and questions about this website |
