Eulogy for a grandchild

Each time I spend time with my grandkids I think of what a joy they are. As the old joke goes – If I knew how much fun they were I would have had them first.  To lose one of my children or grandchildren would be devistating.

Sometimes I am asked to help others write up a testimony, a story or a devotional. Recently, I was contacted by a friend who asked me to help write a eulogy for a little baby that had passed into eternity after only a few hours of life. The request was made by the baby’s grandmother. She hoped to share a message at the funeral that would both comfort others and also share her hope and belief in God with them.  In the end the funeral service arrangements did not allow her time to share this message so I have posted it here as a tribute to her and to her beloved little grandchild.

Eulogy for a grandchild

We come to a time of mourning at the passing of my dear grandchild. There are few more difficult things in life for a parent or grandparent than when a child or grandchild precedes us in death. This leaves us with many dashed hopes and dreams for the life they might have had and the times we might of shared being witnesses to their life. We have a profound sense of loss and we can’t even begin to explain the pain to others who have not experienced this.

In the midst of this sadness I have a hope. The hope I have is in God and in being reunited someday with my little grandchild. The Psalmist King David spoke of this reunion when his small child died in 2nd Samuel 12:23b. He shared, “I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.” I believe that there will be a day of reunion with my grandchild and other loved ones who have gone before me in death.

In Heaven the life we formerly experienced will be gone and we will have our tears wiped away. Revelation 21:4 says,   And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: For the former things are passed away.

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, verses 13-16 Jesus demonstrates how he loves the little children: One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch them and bless them, but the disciples told them not to bother him. But when Jesus saw what was happening, he was very displeased with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you, anyone who doesn’t have their kind of faith will never get into the Kingdom of God.” Then he took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.  

Not only did Jesus want the little children to come to Him but He made them the example of the faith that we all should aspire to have. In our world we might list off many influential religious leaders as models for faith but Jesus pointed out that little children should be our example of faith and belief.

In terms of eternity a life that lasts only a few moments or one that lasts 90 years is very much the same.  James 4:14 says, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” In those years of our life we want time to pass more quickly so we can get our driver’s license, or get a job or get married. In our later years we try to slow down the hands on the clock so we can have a few more years, days or hours to be here with friends and loved ones. The reality is we all will die and then comes a wonderful home going to be with those who have preceded us into heaven.   

Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall told the story of a young mother who had to face the bad news from the doctor that her young child was dying of a terminal illness. Her son was old enough to ask her all those questions about what it was going to be like to die and what Heaven would be like. The young mother was sometimes overcome with emotion and often had to quickly leave the room to hide her tears. She prayed and asked God to give her some way to explain death and heaven to her son. In an instant, God revealed the answer to her prayer.  She asked her son if he could remember what happened the last time he had grown sleepy and fallen asleep on his parents’ bed or in another part of the house. He said he did. She asked if he remembered how he had woken up the next day in his own bed and he said he remembered that. She explained that while he was asleep, the strong arms of his father had picked him up and taken him to his proper place of rest. “In the same way“, she explained, “When it was time for him to die, the strong arms of the Lord Jesus would come and pick him up to take him where he belonged.”  The young boy seemed satisfied and was infused with new courage for what lay ahead and a short time later he was gone to be with Jesus. What a simple beautiful picture of the Savior’s love and that his strong arms are there for you and me. Those loving arms are there for us in death but also in life. Our beloved little baby has been transported to be in the presence of God.

We have the opportunity to be with our loved ones again if we embrace Jesus in the simple childlike faith that Jesus encouraged us to have.

There is a purity that a little child has a simple childlike trust that Jesus speaks about in Matthew 11:25 “Then Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike.”

Paul writes in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. A gift must be accepted and embraced and we do that with the same childlike faith Jesus spoke of.

My belief is based on God’s promise that if I acknowledge with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead, I will be made right with God and given that gift he has promised of spending eternity with Him and given a new hope and meaning in this life. Jesus came into the world not to condemn the world but to save it. As John wrote in that familiar verse of John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” 

I look around this room and see the faces of so many wonderful people I love. Please come join me in embracing the gift of God so that we can all be reunited together in Heaven with my wonderful grandchild.     

         An Anonymous Grandmother

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