Funeral for Chris (Barrel) Schulz, 3 January 2020

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: John 11:25
Theme: I Am The Life




Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Chris, Mark, his brother, and especially you Mel;

Chris Schulz, ‘Barrel’ to those who knew him, was better known yet by God. His creator and Saviour, God knew his fears, his hopes, his disappointments, his joys. God knew his strengths, and He knew his sins…and He knew when it was time for him to rest. That time has come already, too early for those who loved him, too early for a Father who didn’t expect to out live him. But God speaks into our grief with the promise that death is not the end. God first spoke that promise to Chris in his baptism- a flood of God’s mercy over a parched-soul granting life, hope, and a future. Throughout his life God never forsook him. May God comfort us now, in the time of grief, with the certainty of His promises.

The Bible says, “He who has the Son, has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”1 It may sound too simple. It may sound too preachy. It may sound like a stereotype. It may evoke scepticism, resentment, denial or apathy. But when we arrive at the threshold of mortality nothing is more important. It is all or nothing. The Bible is unapologetic saying that one who ‘has’ Christ, has everything. Those who go it on their own will end up with nothing. There are no self-styled ways of entering the presence of God. Nothing that we have accomplished, nothing that we have pursued, not the greatest of intentions, will compile for us a resume worthy of storming the gates of heaven. Christ alone is worthy. He made the sacrifice. He paid the price. He gifts us with the heavenly blessings of grace and forgiveness.

He promises heaven to all who believe. Heaven is not a hypothetical concept conjured up to give hope to those desperate to find an optimistic angle when facing mortality. Those who doubt the reality of life beyond the grave- a life in God’s presence characterized by a perfected and vibrant existence- need to take up their misgivings with the Man who came from there, submitted Himself to death in our world, rose from the grave, and returned to that dimension of eternal bliss. Christ is the only one who can speak with complete authority on the subject.

Chris wasn’t the type of person to put on appearances. What you saw was basically what you got. He was fair and honest, and he lived life on his own terms. Chris knew sheep and that the Bible compares us as sinners to lost sheep. Christ is the Lamb of God that died for Chris’s sins and for the sins of the world. He’s also the good Shepherd, and the Shepherd says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.”2 He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”3

Death at any age is difficult for those who remain, especially when it seems from our perspective, that a life has been cut short. Yet, for believers, grief doesn’t end in despair or loss of hope. Rather, we anticipate a reunion. In the midst of sorrow, we can be filled with gratitude for the blessings that were, and we look forward to what will be. And what will be is described in this way, “The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable.”4 And again, the Scripture says, “Dear friends, now we are children God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”5

Now, it’s impossible to describe how magnificent this will be. We will be raised to a state of existence in which we will enjoy the life of God unencumbered by any of the circumstances of this fallen existence. No burdens, cares, or anxieties will be experienced. We won’t be subjected to pain, exposed to danger, or otherwise occupied with any distress. Being in the presence of God will be absolutely enthralling. Chris, Barrel, Schulz is now at rest…no more harvests, just peace. Thanks be to God! Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Funeral of Christopher Wayne Schulz
3 January 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 1 John 5:12 2 John 10:27-29
3 John 11:25 4 1 Corinthians 15:52-53
5 1 John 3:2