Keep Your Fork! – July 3, 2024

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.
2 Corinthians 4:7-14

Keep Your Fork!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There was once a Christian lady who became sick with a serious illness. Her doctor told her she would die soon. The woman met with her pastor to discuss plans for her funeral. She had one special request for her pastor: I want to be buried with a fork in my hand.

The pastor didn’t know what to say. He had never heard that request before! The woman explained, “At the best meals, when the main course is cleared away, someone says, ‘Keep your fork.’ That’s my favorite part because I know something better is coming. Dessert! So, when people see me in the casket with a fork in my hand, I want them to wonder, ‘What’s with the fork?’ And then, pastor, I want you to tell them: ‘Keep your fork. The best is yet to come.’”

That’s God’s promise to us: The best is yet to come! “The one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:14). When you die, God is going to raise you back to life, just like he raised Jesus back to life. Isn’t that great?

It doesn’t always look that way. Listen to how Paul talked about his life, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). Can you hear how hard Paul’s life was? He was hard-pressed, crushed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.

But he knew this: The best is yet to come! The worst thing that people could do to Paul was put him to death, but if people put him to death, what would happen? God would raise him back to life to live forever in heaven with Jesus. Would that be a bad thing? No way! So keep your fork. Even when you face death, the best is yet to come.

Closing Prayer:

Dear Jesus, death looks like the end. When people die, it looks like it’s all over. But it’s not! You promise that the best is yet to come, because you will raise us to live with you in heaven, just like you rose from the dead. Help us to keep our forks and trust in you. Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

• What does someone mean when they say, “Keep your fork?”
• When we die, where do we get to go and live forever?

Questions for Elementary Age Children

• Why did the woman want to be buried with a fork in her hand?
• Describe how heaven is like a really good dessert.

Questions for Middle School and Above

• Read Revelation 21:1-7. Why is it correct to say that, in heaven, the “best is yet to come”?
• Some people—even some Christians—deny that Jesus rose from the dead. Why is it so important to believe in Jesus’ resurrection?