Ron Meyer Funeral - John 10:7-18

Dear family and friends of Ronny, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. Ron confessed his faith on numerous occasions to me that his trust is in the Lord who forgave him his sins so that when he would die he may inherit eternal life. Ron is one of Christ’s sheep who is still in the flock, only he’s transferred from the earthly flock to the heavenly flock. Have hope in Christ, since for His sake you too are one of His sheep, forgiven your sins, and will join Ron in heaven one day.

Whenever I’d visit with Ronny in the nursing home, he’d always steer the direction of our conversation towards three things. First, he’d talk about farming and how the crops look. Sometimes it was a little too wet or too dry, but he was always confident that there would be a good harvest to be had. Second, he would talk to me about fishing, telling me some fish story (which he always assured me was true) about some incredible catch of fish. 

Third, he’d always tell me how thankful he was for his faith. He was so greatly comforted that his sins were forgiven by Jesus and that He was going to get to go to heaven. He’d show me his Bible that he’s been reading and tell me a little bit about what he just read. As great as his love for farming and fishing was, his love for Christ overshadowed those things by far.

The reason his love for Christ was so great was because Jesus died to forgive him his sins. Yes, Ron was a sinner, like you and me, and because of these sins, Ron knew that he was going to die. When I visited with Ron, he didn’t complain about other people’s sins, but only lamented his own. Ron was a sheep who needed help out of his plight of sin and death so that he might enter into heaven. 

The only door to heaven, away from this plight of death, is Christ. Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep… If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Only through Christ has Ron entered into the green pastures of heaven.

But how is it that Ron has entered into heaven through Christ? Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Christ, the Good Shepherd and the door of the sheep, laid down His life for Ron when He was crucified upon the cross. Because Jesus shed His blood and died, Ron’s sins are forgiven fully and completely. Ron rests now, in the pastures of heaven, as part of God’s heavenly flock, because his sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ.

What Christ did for Ron He also has done for each and every one of us, my dear friends in Christ. We are all sinners. Every one of us has done, said, and thought things which are worthy of shame. We’ve sinned against God and we’ve sinned against one another. We’ve hurt and we’ve begrudged. We will one day find ourselves in the same sort of place where Ron now lays.

But praise be to Christ that our sins are forgiven us through the holy blood of Jesus which washes us anew! God doesn’t hold any grudges against us and keep us far off because of our sin, but He draws us close to Him by adopting us in the waters of Baptism. He speaks those words of absolution to our troubled consciences: I forgive you. He feeds us in His pastures not grass and water, but His own body and blood. With these good gifts God forgives you and makes you His own sheep of His pasture.

Ron was baptized into Christ and made a child of God on October 17th, 1926. Ron delighted in the Word of God and faithfully read His Bible. On March 31st, 1940 Ron confessed his faith that he was taught and he was confirmed, from that day on he received the sacrament of the altar in order to comfort and forgive him the troubles of this life. He was made a new creation, with the power to repent to those whom he wronged and the power to forgive those who wronged him. As a new creation, he served his congregation so that the same forgiveness he received would be made available to future generations. In all things, Ron trusted in Christ because he lived his life by faith.

Ron is indeed a new creation. Just as Ron sowed millions of seemingly dead dried up seeds into the ground which would later sprout and grow a new plant, so is Ron sown into the ground this day. “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”

Right now, already at the moment of Ron’s death, his soul is in heaven with God enjoying everlasting bliss. His body is here, however, awaiting the resurrection. This is Ron, laying here in the casket, but like a seed sown in the earth, he’s not dead. Shortly we shall sow Ron’s body into the ground where he lay dormant, resting, waiting for Christ’s return.

But then, in that day, when Christ shall come back, Ron and all the dead in Christ shall sprout from their resting places and live! The cemetery is not filled with the dead, but it’s like a planted field, and every farmer knows that very soon the bare earth will become a beautifully lush field ripe for the harvest. So Ron, together with all of us in Christ, shall be planted in the pasture, where our Good Shepherd leads us, and together with Christ we will rise from the dead and live eternally.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in Him.”