Letters to the Family of God
by Joe Franzone | October 20, 2022 | Pastor's Blog


October 20, 2022
The time for my departure is near.
Dear Friends,
If you knew that you had a week to live and all of your grandchildren who are not Christians were brought into this room and you could speak directly to them about the gospel what would you say?
This was the question asked of Geoff Thomas who served Alfred Place Baptist Church in Aberystwyth, Wales for over 50 years as pastor. The following is his answer slightly condensed.
I'd say to them, isn't it wonderful to look back through our lives and realize how good God has been to you and me? What wonderful parents He gave us. What health of mind and body. What friendships we had and lovely members of our family. All the material things we had that made life sweet and oh the places we went. And isn’t that wonderful how God gave us all these things in life? And even when we were at our worst, He still kept blessing us so wonderfully.
And now I'm not going to see your face much longer. I am going to heaven. And I'm not going there because I did good things, but because God did such wonderful and good things for me and in me. I acknowledge that they come from God. They have come to me because of His grace, not because of any deserving on my part. He saw defile on me, knew everything about me, and He still blessed me. I knowledge I was unworthy of these things, and I cast myself on the mercy of Jesus Christ. And this is my longing for you, to hear you say, "here I am Lord, have mercy on me." And when I see Him, that's what I'll say, “mercy, mercy, mercy.” That is all I want from God—mercy on that day. I hope that you will see you are a debtor to mercy alone and that you will ask Him to show that mercy and give you a new heart and a new life so that we can be in heaven together.
Do everything in your power to make sure that you'll be in heaven with me.
Those would be the sort of things I would say to them.
Mercy—what a beautiful word. Salvation—what a wonder.
God bless you this week. In life and in death we belong to the Lord.
Pastor Joe