From Death to Life

A father of one of our church members gave up on life and hung himself. To make matters worse, he was a renowned atheist. Yet his family called upon the church to administer his funeral.

The senior minister was on vacation, so I was on call. At first I panicked and thought to myself, “What does one say at the funeral of a atheist who committed suicide?” I sought God in prayer, and John 12:24 came to mind: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” After I read this verse in the sermon, I fixed my eyes on all eight remaining children and said, “Your father’s death will be in vain unless you bear the fruit of salvation in your life.”

I had no idea how the word of God landed that day until I received a call from César, the eldest son. In good Catholic tradition, the family requested that I preach again in their house for the one-month anniversary of their father’s death. Through my conversations with César and some of the church leaders, it became evident that the family wanted to start an evangelistic cell group. César is now one of the cell group leaders, and many are interested in being baptized and joining the church.

Only God can bring life out of the suicide of an atheist!

Cell Group Leaders: César, Wilmer, and Adrian