Jack Cummings was a beloved gospel preacher in Ft. Worth, TX. He exhibited great love for his wife when she suffered with and died from cancer, after 55 years of marriage. A few weeks ago, he contracted COVID. His daughter finally insisted he should go to the hospital. He continued to post things on the internet to encourage his brethren.
Jack’s last post was simple, but powerful. “To all of my friends, I love you and have spent a lifetime trying to share Christ and his love, his compassion and his message of salvation. I’m possibly going to have to go on a ventilator for Covid. I’m going to come off of it in a few days either physically healed or spiritually healed. In either case I win. Love you all.”
Jack died just a few days later. However, his post still lives in my mind. It challenges me to ask myself if I could write something similar. Every Christian should be able to say death results in victory “through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:50-57). Those who have followed the gospel pattern by being buried with the Lord, have been freed from sin and born again to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4, 16-18).
God’s faithful children have assurance of life eternal (1 John 5:13). That assurance is ever present for those who continually walk in the light because the blood of Jesus continually cleanses them (1 John 1:7).
Jesus told the persecuted church at Smyrna, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:10b-11). Let us all live so that we can join Jack in saying, “In either case I win.”
Gary C. Hampton