1 Corinthians 13

Memorial Service
for
Myrtle Eddins Gillespie=

December 31, 2009 ~ 11:00 AM=

F= irst Baptist Church, Anderson, SC

Family and friends, we gather here for a time of worship, remembrance and thanksgiving…<= /b>

Romans 8   Life Through the Spirit=

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ^{2because
through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law=
of
sin and death… ^14&=
#8230;those
who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵For you did =
not
receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the
Spirit of sonship. And by him=
we
cry, "Abba, Father." ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies wi=
th
our spirit that we are God's children. ¹⁷Now if we are children,
then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we
share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.}

Future Glory ¹⁸I consider that= our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be reve= aled in us.…²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning= as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³Not o= nly so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardl= y as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in this hope we we= re saved. But hope that is seen = is no hope at all. Who hopes for wh= at he already has? ²⁵But= if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pra= y for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot expr= ess. ²⁷And he who searc= hes our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for = the saints in accordance with God's will.

More Than Conquerors ²⁸And we = know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have b= een called according to his purpose. ²⁹For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined, he al= so called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did n= ot spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, a= long with him, graciously give us all things? ³⁵Who shall separate us = from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. <= sup>38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neit= her the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from = the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Invocation…Dr. Jim Thomason

Meditation: O Lord, Most Holy (String Quartet)

Scripture Readings on the Theme of Love

1) One of the Scriptures that Myrtle asked me to share with you on this occasion became significant for her because of what it says about the important relationshi= ps in our lives, especially those related to marriage and the family. These bonds were so precious to he= r. She spoke of this often as one of = the greatest blessings in her life—her family.

And then, th= is particular passage I think also demonstrates her very thorough knowledge of the Bible&= #8212;a knowledge and appreciation which came from many years of studying it personally, and also teaching it so faithfully in the Gillespie Sunday Scho= ol Class:

Ecclesiastes 4: ⁹Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: ¹⁰ If one falls down, his friend can help= him up. But pity the man who fall= s and has no one to help him up! ¹¹ Also, if two lie down togeth= er, they will keep warm. But how = can one keep warm alone? ¹² Though one may be overpowered, two= can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

What a great passage = about the love and support we share with one another. Ray, Myrtle felt so enabled to good things in the church and community because of the life you provided and the encouragement you gave.

And children, she, in= turn, gave you a great deal of encouragement—also known as discipline—when she made you stick with whatever you had started. There would be no giving up.<= /o:p>

Allen, Coach Dickie S= mith told me you were the only kid who ever tried to convince him he was late to practice because he’d been at his violin lesson! What’s more, it was really t= rue! And with the support of your paren= ts, you excelled at both.

All the children exce= lled, in fact—and your mom was so proud of each one of you. She felt such a sense of fulfillme= nt as she considered who and what your lives have become. She blessed you—and in so ma= ny ways, you returned that blessing right back to her.

2) There’s so m= uch more to say about this, but let’s go now to this next passage that My= rtle cherished. In it, we are told= that love not only binds us together in close relationship, it also motivates us= to serve—to serve the Lord, and each other.

Whether we talk about= her family, her church, her community—and we could spend a long time list= ing accomplishments here—but in all areas of life, Myrtle Gillespie had t= he heart of a servant. (New Years’ Coats!)

Her love was made rea= l by her actions. Those of us who = knew her--we know that her life certainly resonated with this passage found in t= he Gospel of John:

John 15:5, 8-12= 230;.⁵"I am the vine; you are the branches. <= /span>If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…⁸This is to my Father's glory, that you bea= r much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

⁹&qu= ot;As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ^1=
0If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this= so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

3) And then = we have the passage Myrtle especially wanted us to focus on in this service: 1 Corinthians 13, often called “the Love Chapter:”

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and= of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal= . ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,= and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.= ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but h= ave not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not pr= oud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angere= d, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, alw= ays hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there a= re tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.= ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned li= ke a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now= we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. N= ow I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I’ll have more to say about this in a moment; but first, it may come as a surprise to some of you that Myrtle grew up in a ve= ry tiny crossroads community, down in southern Alabama, on the banks of a river where= her father had a little store.

She caught a lot of fish out of that river and loved d= oing it—got a kick a few years later out of taking her children and grandchildren fishing; and all the while, she maintained her collection of = cane poles—just in case the opportunity arose to go again!

It was also in this setting that Myrtle learned some o= f the great old Gospel hymns of our faith. Her favorite was “I Am Thine, O Lord.” Many of us know this song already&= #8212;I certainly cut my teeth on it.

In case you’re not familiar with it, though, Myr= tle wants to correct this deficiency in your life. She asked that we sing it together today! So please stand and jo= in us as we sing hymn number 290.

Hymn No. 290<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>   I Am Thine, O Lord

Message: The Greatest of These

Dr. Jim Thomason, Pastor

“Draw me nearer…, blessed Lord, to the cro= ss where Thou hast died. Draw me nearer… to Thy precious, bleeding side.”

Sing that enough, friends, and take it to heart, and t= he love of the Savior begins to overwhelm you, and reassure you…right ou= t of any insecurities you feel, and it will make up for any deficiencies in you = as well.

The love of God made known to us in Christ Jesus draws= us “close in” to God. His love ma= kes us whole. And whole people can s= imply love others better than those who are still fractured; and through the power of = this love, they can help others become whole too.

Myrtle wanted this service to focus on love because sh= e knew that it’s our ability to love that shows we are in right relationship with God. It’s our lovi= ng actions that demonstrate that we’re His children.

Without a loving spirit, it does not matter what we sa= y we believe or what kind of relationship with God we claim to have; lacking lov= e, we’re counterfeit to the core.

BECAUSE…God—and Myrtle had such a deep understanding of this--God is love. She had this nailed down—no matter what!

How we need to have some things nailed down today, fri= ends—things we can count on “not to change”—things that will serve as= an anchor in the midst of life’s storms.

I Corinthians 13 points to three aspects of the Christ= ian life which, because they are so deeply rooted in the God who is forever the same, they simply don’t change. We read this earlier: “And now abideth faith, hope, and love.&= #8221;

When the circumstances of life tempt us to believe that everything has changed, we need to know that “faith, hope, and love&#= 8221; haven’t. No matter what happens to us, these three have staying power. They abide.

1) FAITH abides—the ability to know God and rela= te to Him and to understand that our lives are in His hands—this faith cann= ot be taken FROM us no matter what happens TO us. It CAN be sorely tested--as ours h= as been--but it cannot be taken. Faith abides.

Sometimes, the valley we’re in is so dark that w= e have trouble seeing for awhile; but our faith is still there—sustaining, strengthening, seeing us through those valleys until the full light of faith returns.

In Myrtle Gillespie, we witnessed faith as an insepara= ble part of her life—and I’m talking about when life was normal; bu= t we also saw her faith as she realized that this earthly life was slipping away from her. Her faith didn̵= 7;t change.

Hers was a tenacious faith that believes there is “nothing that can ever separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”

Myrtle inspired us in her living and in her dying. She was a remarkable example of &#= 8220;faith abiding.”

2) HOPE also abides.&= nbsp; We are warned in Scripture about placing our hopes in anything that = is part of this world. Nothing t= hat we see around us is going to last.

It won’t stand the test of time, let alone the t= est of eternity—nothing, that is, except for our spirits which have been pla= ced in the loving hands of an eternal God. We believe, in His care and keeping, WE will last!

God sent His Son to live for us, and to die for us, an= d then to live again--to give substance to this hope we have—to give us a re= ason to be hopeful, even in the face of death.

Myrtle was a hope-filled person. She could not have fought the cour= ageous war she raged against cancer without a heart filled with hope. Nor could she have accepted the en= d of the battle so graciously without a firm foundation of hope in God’s future.

Myrtle lived her life instilling hope in others. She inspired those around her to l= ive up to the potential God had placed in their lives.

For some, the children she mentored and the students s= he helped to further their education, she held out hope for them until they finally caught on and got some hope for themselves.

Myrtle’s family shared with me some letters from people we don’t know, but their words indicated that Myrtle had helped them, encouraged them, and given them hope.

Myrtle was well aware of how blessed she was, and she = knew those blessings carried with them a responsibility to give back.

This Pall which covers her casket—she asked me a= bout ordering it, using it on this occasion, and giving it to First Baptist Church. I encouraged her to do so—the church I served in Virginia had one and used it--but since Palls are not common in Baptist churches aro= und here, I also asked why this was important to her. For two reasons, she said:

1)   the way it conveys that we are “covered by God’s grace” even = in death; and second, 2) the way it communicates that we are all the same in death.

Myrtle was blessed and privileged in life. She well-understood this, too—but she never let it go to her head—y= ou know what I mean. Her privile= ged status didn’t go to her head, just to her heart. And there’s such a differenc= e!

3) And its this difference that brings us back around = to the theme that Myrtle wanted to dominate this service: LOVE.

Love abides. In fact, love is the greatest of the three qualities of the spirit that Paul mentions in I Corinthians 13.

Myrtle’s heart was filled with love for her Lord= , her church family and friends, her husband and children and grandchildren.

She didn’t even erect any barriers when it came = to her in-laws—they were all family to her and they knew they were also acce= pted, fully included, and loved.

Christian love always seeks the highest good for others—and this was the kind of love that Myrtle demonstrated. She looked for the best in people-= -and found it. In some cases, she probably had to uncover it—but she found it!

To Ray--to Andria, Boyd, and Allen—to you and yours--what a blessing to be part of a fam= ily where there is love for one another—where God’s love abides.

It is one of the greatest gifts we receive in lifeR= 12;and so often there’s a godly wife and mother at the heart of it. Not to take anything away from Dad= s, but you know what I mean.

Sure, such a bounty of love makes times like this pain= ful. But I promise you, it would be much sadder, and our lives would be diminished, if we came to this moment and did not feel our loss this intensely—because that would mean that the lov= e we shared had not been as deep, and as real, as it was, and as it continues to be.

Myrtle’s deepest regret, once she realized that = her life here was drawing to a close, was the thought of being separated from h= er family. She wanted to continu= e to be here for all of you--just as she had always been.

Still, death did not frighten Myrtle. She reached a point where she knew= she was ready to embrace it.

On one of my last visits with her, she said, “Th= is train is about to leave the station.” Then she added, “And I’= ;m okay with that now. I’m looking forward to the trip.” That’s faith speaking, friends.

On Christmas Eve, Myrtle told Andrea that she was read= y to spend Christmas with the angels. In a sense, of course, that’s what she did. Her children and grandchildren wer= e all with her—and they were all angels in her book!

As hard as it was watching what was happening to their grandmother, there was a real sense among them--and the rest of the family&= #8212;that they were being blessed as they shared this last bit of Myrtle’s jour= ney here on earth.

Families don’t always have this privilege, but y= ou did—and my hunch is that you will long cherish this precious experien= ce you shared together.

And whichever child said, “This was the best Chr= istmas ever”—wow—some people won’t get that—but I th= ink your grandmother surely smiled when you said it!

Boyd sent me something he wrote about his mother. I want to share part of it with yo= u now. He wrote:

“It was once said that ‘While we sleep, an= gels have conversations with our souls.’ Mom was always a vivid dreamer of d= reams that provided profound insight and images that she was always eager to shar= e. She has passed this trait to her children as well.

Last spring, before we received word that the cancer h= ad not gone away, Allen had a dream of Mom. In the dream, she was surrounded by her family and friends and said to us all “You are my angels, and always = will be.”

To Mom, you are nothing short of an angel, each and ev= ery one of you who ever sang or played music for her, said a kind word to her, = made a meal for her, cared for her failing body, shed a tear for her, or most importantly, said a prayer for her.

Although she took us for= angels, in the words of Luciano de Crescenzo, “We are angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embrac= ing one another.”

So today is a day for embracing each other, and celebrating a life well lived, and for taking comfort that Mom’s angels have now op= ened her spiritual eyes and escorted her personally before the face of God.̶= 1;

Thank you, Boyd. What a beautiful expression of fai= th, hope, and love is contained in those lines—and what a blessed assuran= ce to know that deep in our hearts, these rich blessings abide.

Faith, hope, love.&nb= sp; And the greatest of these—as our Savior demonstrated for us—and as his child, Myrtle Gillespie, witnessed before us as well= 212;the greatest of these is love.

Now, Myrtle selected one more Scripture, along with an= other hymn, that she asked that we share together at the conclusion of this service.

As I read this powerful passage from Colossians, I wan= t us to hear in these words the wisdom that guided Myrtle’s life…as = well as the love which motivated her to choose these words--and commend them--to= our lives as well. Even now, she = continues to teach and inspire:

Colossians 3:12-16   ¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear = with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues pu= t on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
¹⁵Le= t the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell= in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God= .

Oh, how Myrtle loved music. What a grand way for u= s to express now our praise and gratitude for her life among us here, and for her life n= ow in God’s eternal care. = Thanks be to God!

Hymn   Love Divine, All Loves Excelling Hyfrydol

Benediction

Recessional: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God