In the lobby is a phrase, "Funerals are a celebration of life". I don't know if this is always true but I feel that this saying applies very much to today. For we are here not only to share our grief at the departure of one we love. We are also here to celebrate the life of Cassandra Froese. We knew her as a daughter, a sister, a friend.

Even though her life was tragically cut short yet the number of people here testifies to how many other lives she touched. Probably she was the only one who knew most of us here and the many more who would be here if the circumstances would have permitted.

We have allowed a time after I am finished for some of you to speak something in remembrance of Cassie. It is good for us to share our pleasant memories of her with each other. It helps us and it honours her. But I don't intend in my short remarks this afternoon to eulogize Cassie. I could never match the power and beauty of Cassie's own testimony which she wrote down last Friday.

We will ask one of her friends and spiritual companions to read it toward the end of this service. I hope that each of you keeps a copy and allows Cassie's heart to touch your heart. The life and sweet relationship with the Lord that she enjoyed is available to all. Nothing could be a more fitting memorial to her than that we would receive her word and through it the Saviour that she loved.

The verses that we read just now are written as a comfort concerning those who have departed from us. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 mentions those who are sleeping. This refers to the sleep of death but it specifically means that for believers in Christ death is not the end.

Apart from the Lord's salvation there really is no hope after death but for Cassie and those who also know her Saviour death is just a sleep. To her it is a rest from labour with a blessed hope to come. Verse 14 says, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so also those who have fallen asleep through Jesus, God will bring with Him."

Cassie is no longer sharing with us the joys and sorrows of life on earth. But just as she lived in the hope of growing in Lord she also died in the hope of resurrecting to be with Him when He comes again. So the first key word we should all remember is sleeping. Cassandra's life is not over, she is sleeping.

Chapter 5 begins to talk about "the day of the Lord". The day of the Lord is the day when the Lord will come again. Verse 5 speaks of light and day, darkness and night. To live in constant readiness for the Lord's coming is to be a son of light, a son of the day. To reject the Lord and to be unaware of His coming is to be of the night and of darkness.

Verse 6 says, "So then let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober." Sleep here does not refer to the sleep of death. It refers to the sleep of a careless disregard for the Lord's coming. The rest, those who don't know the Lord, are asleep spiritually. Those who are awake need to watch and be sober. Some of us need to wake up, to receive the Lord as our Saviour.

Some of us may be awake but neither watchful nor sober. When the Lord comes and we all have to answer to Him, we will be very, very sober. If we are watchful and sober to live in Christ today then the Lord's coming will be a day of salvation to us.

So two other words I would like us all to remember are watch and be sober. We had the joy of knowing Cassandra during her brief journey through life. Now she is sleeping. Of course, before the Lord she is living but to us she is sleeping. The Lord only gave her a short time but I believe she has made it count. How about us? We are alive physically but are we dead or sleeping spiritually? We need to wake up, to watch, and to be sober.

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." There can be no doubt that Cassandra was one who loved God. She also was called by the Lord according to His purpose. So according to this verse all things, that is all the things in her life and experience, worked together for her good. This was her testimony. Still you may wonder, "She died a tragic and untimely death. What kind of good is that?"

Let me address this question in this way:

There is a gospel today known as the prosperity gospel which says that if you are faithful to the Lord, He will reward you with earthly riches and enjoyment. This is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible, especially the writings of Peter, shows us that we gain a rich entrance into the coming kingdom of God through sufferings.

If we try to handle all of life's sufferings by ourselves they either will defeat us or make us strong in ourselves and bitter towards others. On the other hand, if we come to the Lord in our sufferings and learn to take Him as our supply then we will gain more of Him. Cassie's testimony mentions her sufferings and the tough choices that had to be made. She was learning to choose the Lord and it brought her closer to Him. That is why the Lord was "so real and sweet" to her.

But God is sovereign. He has apportioned each of us a limited time on this earth. I cannot give a detailed reason why God took Cassandra at this time in this way. Now we know only in part. We will not know in full until Christ comes again. The light of His judgement seat will make all things clear.

Nevertheless, I would like to celebrate Cassandra's life as a lover of Christ. She gained the Lord and left us a testimony that many who have lived 5 times as long as she did could not write. The sufferings of her life brought Cassie closer to the Lord. May our shared suffering in losing her also bring us to Him. This is the highest good.

Cassandra was a lover of Christ. She tasted His reality and sweetness. May we remember her most of all for this. May we also have the same testimony in our life.

Amen.