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{"id":1420,"date":"2013-12-31T09:00:18","date_gmt":"2013-12-31T15:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mtvpastor.com\/?p=1420"},"modified":"2013-12-31T09:00:18","modified_gmt":"2013-12-31T15:00:18","slug":"1-park-stevens-funeral-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/newwineskins\/1-park-stevens-funeral-message\/","title":{"rendered":"#1: Park Stevens Funeral Message"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"park\"$ <\/a>It\u2019s been six months since we lost a friend, a neighbor, a teammate, a brother, a son. Park Stevens\u2019 death is something many of us are still coping with. Through it all, I am honored and humbled by the loving embrace given to Park\u2019s family, and inspired by how Park\u2019s legacy continues on even to this day. Viewed more than all of my other posts in 2013 combined, this is the #1 post of 2013:<\/em><\/p>\n

This past Saturday, I preached at a funeral for one of our college students who tragically lost his life. Over 700 were there for the service, but for those who missed it, or for those who\u2019ve ever lost someone too soon, here\u2019s the text of the sermon I shared:<\/p>\n

As we come here to remember and celebrate the life of Park Stevens, I know there is one question that stands preeminent in our thoughts: why? Why did this tragedy have to happen? Why did he have to die so young, with so much life still in front of him? Why did this happen to Park? He was a good kid. He never hurt anyone, unless you were on the opposing line from him, but then you were asking for it. Why?<\/p>\n

The short answer is, \u201cWe can\u2019t fully answer that.\u201d God\u2019s ways are far bigger than ours. He sees the big picture in ways we could never understand. I could give you some Bible verses, make a logical argument from Scripture about the sovereignty of God. But here, in this moment of grief, as we try and process Park\u2019s death, that answer doesn\u2019t seem to be enough. Any time we come up against overwhelming tragedy, our minds fail to grapple with the onslaught of grief, leaving us to deal with emotions and questions that can leave us paralyzed.<\/p>\n

While I might never be able to fully answer the question \u201cwhy\u201d in such a way as to take all the emotional pain away, there are three things we can hold on to that can help us all begin to process this tragedy.<\/p>\n

First, we need to know that God\u2019s heart hurts with us through this tragic loss. It\u2019s easy to get this picture of a callous and cold God up in heaven, not seeming to care when life gets snuffed out so young. Just the opposite. God\u2019s heart grieves at the pain and loss inflicted by sin and evil in the world. God grieves with us. In Psalm 34, the Bible says that \u201cGod is close to the broken-hearted<\/b>.\u201d Why? Because he loves us.\u00a0And because he\u2019s lost a son too. Dean, Gail, family and friends, I know that the pain will be overwhelming at times, but I want you to know that God is right there with you. His heart breaks with yours, and he knows what you\u2019re walking through. He will be with you till you make it through on the other side.<\/p>\n

Second, we can all take hope in the fact that Park ultimately won the most important game of his life. As you\u2019re all aware, football was integral to who Park was. He lived for it; his football teammates were his family. And yet he knew that there was something even more important than football: his relationship with Jesus Christ. When Park was 8 years old, he made a decision to follow Christ. That changed everything about the way he lived his life. Gail told me about the first mission trip he went on. Mom wanted to make sure he had everything he needed for the trip, so she bought him a brand new pair of shoes. Park goes on the trip, has a great time, comes home without the new shoes. Mom\u2019s trying to figure out why he came home without his brand new shoes, and he said, \u201cI met someone who didn\u2019t have any shoes. I had other pairs of shoes, so I gave him my new ones. He needed them more than me.\u201d That\u2019s just who he was. He was a different person because he had given his life to Jesus.<\/p>\n

To use a football illustration, at the end of the day, individual statistics are nice, but ultimately irrelevant. You can get caught up with your personal stats, how many tackles you made, how many yards you ran. But at the end of the game, individual stats are secondary. What matters is whether or not you won the game. Football is ultimately about winning games. In the same way, we can get caught up with our individual stats in life, how much money we make, what career we have, how successful we are in life. But in the end, those individual stats don\u2019t determine whether or not we win the ultimate game. Make no mistake, the ultimate game, the game that determines your eternal destiny in either heaven or hell, is won or lost on one thing alone: what you do with Jesus Christ. At an early age, Park decided to give his life to Jesus and make Jesus his Lord, his head coach. After that, he\u2019d already won the most important game he\u2019d ever play.<\/p>\n

And now, because he made that decision, we believe that Park is in heaven. I believe he\u2019s looking down on us now. He\u2019s touched at this incredible show of affection, but I don\u2019t think he wants you to grieve for him. He\u2019s in a better place. He\u2019s in the presence of his Creator. And he hopes to see all of you in heaven one day.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the third thing that we can hold on to: Park\u2019s life can still have purpose. One of the toughest things about death is that it can seem that everything stops, that Park is done having an impact on this world. But that\u2019s not true. In John 12, Jesus said this about his upcoming death on the cross: \u201cI tell you the truth: unless a grain of wheat is planted in the ground and dies, it remains a solitary seed. But when it is planted, it produces in death a great harvest<\/b>.\u201d Because of Jesus\u2019 death, all of our lives have been forever impacted. In the same way, Park\u2019s death, although tragic, can still have in an impact far beyond his life.<\/p>\n

Think about it: here, in this moment, with hundreds and hundreds of us gathered together, the gospel of Jesus Christ has been shared with more people at one time than Park was ever able to see while he was alive. I know there are some of you that have not made a decision to give your life to Jesus. Maybe you\u2019re still concerned about your individual stats. Maybe you think you\u2019ve got time because you think you\u2019ll live forever. You can have fun now and get serious later. If you truly want to make something good come out of this horrible tragedy, then give your life to Jesus. You can do that now, in the quietness of this moment, in your heart. Then, whatever your individual stats are in life, you\u2019ll know that you\u2019ve already won the ultimate game.<\/p>\n

Park has now joined the \u201cgreat cloud of witnesses\u201d that the Bible talks about in Hebrews 12. His turn is over. It\u2019s our turn now. How will we live this one opportunity we have called \u2018life\u2019? What will we do that lives long after we\u2019re gone? What legacy will we leave behind us? In honor of Park, let\u2019s live well; let\u2019s live big; let\u2019s live a life that honors the God that Park placed his trust in.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"