"And There Shall Be No More Death, Neither Sorrow, Nor Crying ...."

Common Sense Commentary: "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Col.3:4

One of the finest families we ever met has lost another of it's members. Buddy and Mary Jo Phillips, and their daughter Cheri and son, Mike, came to Tallahassee and joined our church 35 or 40 years ago. Buddy had been Sheriff in a North Florida County and had joined the Florida Dept. Of Law Enforcement, in the Capitol City. During the following years, Buddy set what became a world record, I am sure. He became the only man in history to be Sheriff of five different Counties, at different times, of course. When a Florida County lost a Sheriff for some reason, the Governor would appoint Buddy to fill the vacancy until a new Sheriff could be elected and installed. This gave the Florida Governor the opportunity to put a highly capable and scrupulously honest man in a troubled County to lay the groundwork for an improved Sheriff's Department by correcting problems and establishing sound policies. If there had been a better man for the job, the Governor would have chosen him. Buddy Phillips was the man. He not only had an award winning career in law enforcement, he was as good a person as I have ever known. Buddy and Mary Jo were flourishing, dedicated Christians. They were beautiful people. Their children, Cheri and Mike were also exceptional young people, and students at our school, North Florida Christian.

Buddy passed away a few years back and had the largest funeral I ever participated in. It looked like every law enforcement officer in Florida was there. There must have been several hundred Police, Sheriffs and Highway Patrol cars filling the parking lots of the large church. According to Romans 13:4-6, as a law enforcement officer, Buddy Phillips was a "Minister of God".  Read it. That is what it says.

This week, Buddy and Mary Jo's daughter, Cheri, had a heart attack and died at age 47. It serves no purpose to speculate why God would choose to take such a fine Christian man or such a young woman from this life. It does serve notice that there is no age limit on death. It tells me that our earthly life is simply the preliminaries for the main event ... to see who will participate in that great, eternal event in God's Heavenly Kingdom and across the boundless infinity of the Universe. Buddy obviously qualified early and went on to the finals. Cheri loved her dad and misses him no more. They are reunited around the throne of God where Mary Jo and Mike and all of us who knew them, and are also born again, will join them in that great reunion with our Lord and Christian family. Praise God, and Pray for Mary Jo, a superb Christian wife and mother.

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth .... And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 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." Rev.21:2-4