If You Were Asked to Speak at the Lord’s Funeral, What Would You Say?

It’s been two years since my brother and I had our kidney transplant surgery. 

I remember that hard and difficult conversation I had with my brother, Kenny, when he told me his kidneys were failing. I knew he had some kidney problems, I just didn’t realize how bad it had gotten. Kenny was telling me how he was at peace with God, and that he was ready to go when God felt it was time. 

It was in that moment, that I thought to myself, “Wait a second. I’m in pretty good health. Maybe he can have one of my kidneys.”

My brother never asked me for a kidney. In fact, he told me I needed to really pray about it and talk to my wife, Jill, first. Once Jill and I both had a peace that this was something God wanted me to do, our journey together towards kidney health for my brother began. 

Kidney Transplant Surgery & Easter Sunday

At the time of the surgery, I was hoping to be well enough to be able to preach on Easter Sunday morning, which was only three weeks away. I knew I would need to manage my pain, mobility and energy levels. There was no telling how I would be feeling in three weeks. 

But the Lord had been revealing so much to me through this experience, I felt like He was granting me a whole new perspective in regard to His death and resurrection. 

If I were so honored to speak at the Lord’s funeral, I wouldn’t be able to say enough about what He has done in my life, for my family, and how much He means to me! 

What about you? If you were asked to speak at the Lord’s funeral, what would you say?

What does His sacrifice mean for us today?

Some 700 years before the birth of Christ, there was man named Isaiah who served as a prophet in Jerusalem. He prophesied much about the Jewish people’s coming Messiah. 

† Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Every part of our being desires something…

As human beings, we all get hungry, tired, thirsty, lonely, sick and discouraged amongst other things. These common traits of our human existence here on earth can often make us feel incomplete and unfulfilled until these needs are satisfied. 

This shows . . . 

We were not made to perfection. We are incomplete without God. 

God is our only solution for experiencing a life of complete integrity, wholeness and well-being. He alone is worth loving, pursuing, and throwing our entire lives into. Everything else has a shelf life. God alone is infinite and everlasting!

Prior to the kidney transplant surgery

In the months leading up to the very day of our transplant surgery, my brother was on all kinds of medications to keep his body alive and functioning. He had to go through four-hour dialysis treatments, three times a week.

Everyday things were laborious for him; walking, showering, running errands, trying to sleep. It was a lifestyle in which no matter what he did, he would always end up feeling exhausted and emotionally spent. 

There were a lot of tests, bloodwork and paperwork that needed to be completed and evaluated. In fact, the final decision and release to actually do the surgery was less than a couple of weeks prior.

The surgery itself was about four hours for each of us. My surgery was scheduled for 6:00 am, with my brother’s surgery commencing upon the removal of my kidney. 

Some six hours later, I remember waking up about noon. My brother was still in surgery, so I knew it would be a while before I heard any news.

When the news came…

Later that afternoon, the news came! I remember the medical staff coming into my room. They looked happy. They had smiles on their faces. Then the doctor said, “Guess what?”

And I said, “What?”

“It’s working. The kidney you gave your brother, it’s working,” he said. He went on to share that my brother’s post-surgery blood work was already showing tremendous improvement than what it was before the surgery. 

The moment I got the good news was significant because it meant . . . 

The moment my brother got his new kidney, everything changed! 

The old life was gone; a new life had begun!

There was no more need for any of his old medications. They would now be gone. His dialysis treatments were now a thing of the past. A brand new life had begun! It was a new beginning; a new life born out of a life that was previously dying.

When I think about all that God did to orchestrate this miracle for my brother, to provide a kidney to reverse the effects of a life that didn’t have much longer to live, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and wonder! 

And I think to myself, . . . 

How much MORE has Christ provided for all of us by donating His entire body?

How much MORE has Christ provided for our own health, healing and well-being? How much MORE has Christ given us through His death and resurrection, which includes the promise of eternal life for all who would put their trust in Him?

Let me encourage you today:

Have you been struggling with a physical need? Do you need the Lord to touch your body?

I’m here to tell you, that . . . 

Jesus has already made provision for your healing through His suffering and sacrificial work on the cross!

If you don’t know Jesus, follow Him today!

If you do know Him, bring your physical need to Him right now and let me pray for you.

Jesus encouraged His disciples that with the preaching of the gospel, for those who believed, they could expect signs and wonders to follow (Mark 16:15-18).

Let’s pray and believe together for God to impart His grace upon you, set a miracle in motion, and grant unto you complete health, wholeness, and well-being. 

Let me PRAY for you!