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A Note from Pastor Mark
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
As believers, Christ is our life. We are purchased with His blood, and He is our Lord. The cross and the empty tomb remind us of His great love. Everyone who trusts the Savior for forgiveness of their sins has the hope of eternal life. As a result, we no longer live for ourselves. We live for Christ who gave Himself for us. We rejoice in serving Him. It is our privilege.
As you will read in this week’s newsletter, our dear brother Bob Swanson entered glory after a heart attack on Monday. The suddenness of his death has deeply touched all of us here at Mt. Tahoma. Bob was just with us on Sunday talking about Jesus, laughing at the potluck, and discussing how he could help in AWANA again this year. To sum up the life of Bob Swanson in a sentence we could very aptly use the verse, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” He lived for Christ because he loved the Savior who changed his life forever. Bob had no fear of death. No wonder! The promise of God’s Word reminds us, "to die is gain." Stop and consider that at this very moment Bob Swanson is in the presence of His Savior. Two verses later we read: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far! (v. 23)
It is significant that this summer we spent time in our Wednesday evening Bible studies learning what the Bible teaches about heaven. Bob actively participated in our discussion.
We all feel the loss of friends and family who die. We grieve deeply. But for those who die and know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we don’t grieve like those without hope. Bob now knows such great joy! Our brother is at this very moment in the presence of His Savior, and that is better by far! What an amazing comfort.
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