When I was a teenager, this is a question my parents, particularly my Mom, used to ask me. When asked it sounded something like this, “Where do you think you’re going”? The inference was that either a.) I was not supposed to be going anywhere, b.) I was not wearing enough clothing deemed essential to leaving the house, or c.) I was trying to leave without finishing my chores. And, when that tone was used, I usually got the not so subliminal message that I wasn’t going anywhere.

But, there can be other meanings to this phrase and so I’d like to ask, when this life is over, my friends, “Where do you think you’re going?”

There is a reason I ask. Recently, it has been made very clear to me that this life as we know it can be over in an instant. Tomorrow is promised to none of us. Where we will spend eternity is a question we should all know the answer to. Don’t you think?

Eternity is one of those things that’s hard to wrap our minds around because we are finite and eternity is not. Francis Chan has done a video with the best explanation I’ve ever seen or heard. (You can find it on YouTube as Francis Chan’s Eternity Rope Illustration.) It is mind-boggling and sobering and true. Which brings me to the reason for my question.

For all of the almost 20 years that we’ve been attending our church, we have known, loved, and been continually blessed by our dear friends the Stafford family. They are a family of faithful Believers, from the oldest to the youngest. They are a family that lovingly and joyfully serves others looking for nothing in return. They are a family of huggers and they give some of the best hugs I’ve ever received. They laugh heartily and they love much. They are a reflection of the One they all trust in and all that they do is for His Glory. They are an example to all and dearly loved.

This Friday, possibly as you are reading this, we will be celebrating the life of Craig Stafford, the father of this family. He died suddenly and without warning at the age of 49. He temporarily leaves a beautiful wife and four precious children. It is sad, almost incomprehensible, to think of life in our church or even on this earth, without Craig. We that knew him and loved him grieve his passing, but not without hope. You see, Craig knew where he was going.

He had the hope of heaven firmly in his grasp. Not because he was a perfect man, but because he knew his Savior, Jesus Christ. None of us can earn heaven. It is a free gift given by the Father, through His Son.

This is Craig. His smile speaks volumes. He’s still smiling…and one day I know, his family knows, he’ll greet us again with one of his wonderful hugs.

So, my friends, I ask again, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” ~ John 3: 16

It is the biggest deal there is…