God’s Grace is Sufficient for You Even As You Slip into Alzheimer’s
Several members of the Evergreen Church, where I serve as Pastor, have been slipping into the mists of Alzheimer’s and it is most disconcerting. These are beautiful and effective followers of Jesus who are losing not only memory, but also control over daily details of life. They are saying things that are difficult for loved ones to hear and more often they are talking nonsense. The good news of the gospel is this: No matter how tangled your mind becomes or how thin your memory wears, God’s grace is sufficient for you. Our relationship to God and his eternal love for us does not diminish as we lose our minds. If you think that you are saved only if you can remember the date and time of your conversion, then you may find it difficult to face a loved one, who has walked with Jesus for many years only to lose all present memory of it all.
With one of my dear father’s in the faith, today, languishing in the hospital, jumbled in conversation and out of sorts, I realized that God’s grace is sufficient for him. It’s not particularly what he has done or particularly what he remembers at any given moment that protects his standing as a child of God. This is most encouraging. He will finish well as God gives him the grace to do so.
September 25th, 2012 at 8:45 pm
And when the flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil
a life of joy and peace.
(John Newton)
What a blessing to know that we depend not on our ability to remember God, but on his faithfulness to remember us!
October 6th, 2012 at 7:51 am
This goes hand in hand with what Pastor Nathan, Pastor Keith and Elder Charlie teach us at Reconciliation Church (a mission of Evergreen Church). God’s grace is sufficient for all of us. God loves all of us. God loves us no matter how we are and we need to welcome each other in the same vein. It doesn’t matter that some of us can’t read or write, some of us barely talk, some are unable to work, some have developmental disabilities, some have mental health issues. God’s love crosses all boundaries….race, socio-economic status, educational level, IQ, etc. As Pastor Nathan repeatedly teaches us, “God is no respector of persons.”
October 6th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
A beautiful reminder of God’s love and the gospel! And as long as we are quoting hymns, another thing Alzheimer’s teaches us is “Work for the night is coming, when man’s work is done.”