God with Us

You will notice two recent postings regarding the passing of Tenth members' parents, two of them today, June 15. This day is the 12th anniversary of James Boice's death. Here are his words to us as we contemplate the passing of those we have looked up to and perhaps even our own near departure.

I am about to die, but God will be with you (Genesis 48:21).

Jacob is dying. His testimony is that God has been with him all his days. That is a great thing. But as he dies he looks on Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh, who would also soon have their hard times, and says that God will be with them as he had been with him.

I address three classes of people. First, there may be some like Jacob who are nearing the end of life. You can testify that God has been faithful to you. But as you look at what you are leaving behind, you see children and grandchildren as yet unconverted. You see problems for your sons and daughters. I ask, will God be less faithful to them than he has been to you? You have trusted God with your life. Can you not also trust him with the lives of your children? Will he not also bring your grandchildren to faith?

Second, I speak to those who are children and who are witnessing the passing of a parent or older relative. You are thankful to God for that life, but you are wondering if you can live as that father, that mother, that grandparent, or uncle or aunt lived. “God was adequate for them and their problems,” you say, “but can he be adequate for me?” You know the answer: God is almighty, and he is unchanged. He will be with you, just as he was with the saints of old.

Finally, I speak to those who think of this in terms of contemporary leaders and their passing. Jacob was the last of the three great patriarchs. We witness his departure, and we wonder if God will have another to replace him. We see the passing of a Donald Grey Barnhouse, a C. S. Lewis, or a Francis A. Schaeffer, and we wonder if God will raise up others in their place. What will happen to that work when the minister is taken? What will happen when a person who has been greatly used in my life no longer has the strength or ability to carry on?

The answer is, God will be with you. The time is coming when each of us must pass to glory. But God is faithful. Jesus has promised to be with his church until the end of the age. His name is Emmanuel—“God with us.” He will never leave us until he has accomplished all that he has spoken.