At 6:48 pm on November 26, 2015 my dad died.

Or did he?

Let me restate that: my dad lived this past week at 6:48 pm on November 26.

He was 91 years old. He had been suffering the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s for a number of years. He had congestive heart failure. His breathing was labored. He had refused to eat, drink and take his medication. It was like he decided it was time to go.

For the most part he was at rest, sleeping most of the time. He was not in pain. He was not angry or violent. He was at peace. He was with us one minute, and the next he was gone.

My brother and sister were with him in his last days on this earth. They prayed for him, read him scripture, told him how much they loved him, and cared for him as best they could. I was out of town flying back to Vancouver as soon as I could.

My brother called me and said that he didn’t think dad was going to make it through to the day I was scheduled to arrive. So, I cut my business trip short and flew back earlier, but I did not make it back in time.

He had died by the time I arrived.

Excuse me, I meant to say he “lived” before I was able to get back to him.

When my father was 75 I had the great pleasure and privilege of introducing him to Jesus. He very simply confessed his need for a Saviour;

“Lord, would you please forgive me for my sins. I give you my life and ask that you would give me yours… I think I’m done son.”

Dad’s prayer was simple, yet effective.

And with that the Lord heard his heart and changed his citizenship. A couple of years later my brother and I experienced the joy of baptizing our dad at a men’s camp.

My father believed. Perhaps not in the same way that I believe, but I know he is with Jesus. He is Jesus’, and Jesus is not letting him go. Dad shed his earthly cocoon and came alive in a way he never, ever experienced before. He is not dead, he is alive.

When a butterfly bursts out of its cocoon do we look at it and say,

“Oh, that poor caterpillar is dead.”

No, we understand that the caterpillar has been transformed into a butterfly who is alive and free. Breaking free from the cocoon is the only way it can be transformed. So it is with those who die having professed faith in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. We shed our cocoon and are transformed into a being who is alive in the presence of God in a way we can only imagine.

God’s love letter to us tells us that if we confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that He is alive – risen from the dead – we will be saved. Jesus also told us that He is the resurrection and the life. In Him, even though we die, we will live. We have an eternal hope in Christ.

My father lived a full life. He gave what he had to give. He was a good, good father, and he loved me well. He loved me the best he knew how. Much of who I am is a reflection of my dad. I will miss my father, but I know that dad belongs to Jesus and Jesus did not let him go.

Jesus died, but He is not dead. He is alive so that we too might live in Him. I am confident that dad is alive and he will be in my welcoming committee when I arrive in heaven. I look forward to the day when I too shed this earthly cocoon and am transformed into a life I can only imagine.

Dad, I love you. I know you are alive in an unimaginable way. And, I know I will see you again… but not yet. Not yet…

I will see you later dad, and I look forward to that!

John 11:25, 26

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?'”

Romans 10:9, 10

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

1 John 5:11, 12

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

John 3:16