Originally posted on Jon’s blog, www.commissional.com
Christine Bykiv (August 29, 1935 - July 31, 2011)
We all loved Christine Bykiv and she loved us. Her devotion to family and friends was so strong. When I asked the family to paint a greater picture than the one I already had of Christine, they used words like, “faith” and ”survivor” (she was the youngest of 11 children and became orphaned at age 15 just as she and her family were about to immigrate to Canada). Christine was resourceful and even studied at Durham College to better her English. She wanted everything Canada had to offer. She was organized; self-sufficient, worked at whatever she needed to do including a furniture store, cafeteria, K-mart, Molly Maid, and Mr. Coffee but always with people. She loved people. On top of that, she ran her house and raised three wonderful children. The family even prioritized helping others such as their sponsorship of a child less fortunate than they were. I concur with these characteristics as Christine was always so encouraging to me and greeted me with a warm smile; the same one that she gave to each of you. I actually bumped into her a week ago last Saturday at Sobey’s and she told me that she wasn’t doing the best so I prayed for her right then and there in front of the grocery store. It was a surprise then for her daughter-in-law Michelle to come and tell me on Friday that she was being admitted into the hospital for palliative care. When I went to visit her that evening, she was in good spirits. I started to read from Philippians 1:21, “To live is Christ and to die is gain” but she finished the rest of the verse for me. We talked further and agreed that our role as followers of Christ is to choose life and make the most impact we can for the Kingdom of God. This is why it was so surprising to hear that she had gone home to be with the Lord on Sunday. Isn’t that always the case – death surprises us even though we all know that someday we are going to die? I think this is because we were made for eternity as Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “God has set eternity into the hearts of men.” Maybe we were also surprised at Christine’s death because she finished so strong. In fact, last week she cut her two acres of grass at the cottage, even pushing a wheel barrow around. Her passion for gardening motivated her to the very end.
Maybe her passion for gardening came from a deeper understanding of what we were created to do on this earth. As I read from John 15:1-17 you will see what I mean and how this passage so aptly describes Christine’s life. Read John 15:1-17! To understand Jesus’ words and Christine’s life you need to know that God created this world. He created the sun and moon and stars. He created the oceans and land. He created the birds and fish and animals and He created the plants. God also created us human beings to look after the world. He specifically created Adam and Eve and gave them a job to do – look after His garden! Our problem as human beings is that we failed in the only instruction God gave us – don’t eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Some plants are edible and others are fatal if you eat them. The fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was fatal – yet it caused a slow death. You might think what does that have to do with me? When Adam and Eve - our first parents - sinned, it affected all of their future offspring. To those of you still skeptical of this doctrine called original sin, I believe you would acknowledge that what our parents do affects us so it is not a stretch to believe that Adam and Eve’s actions had consequences for us today. The consequences from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil are still evident in our lives. Our beloved Christine succumbed to the poison of sin like we all will someday.
However, there is good news for us! God the Father has taken over the gardening! He planted Jesus to become the true Vine in this world. This vine gives life. So the immediate question is how do I get life? We get life by staying connected to the Vine. That makes total sense. We have a couple of vines growing in our backyard. If part of the vine breaks, it still might hang around, but it eventually turns brown and dies. The only thing to do is cut it off and throw it away! This is exactly what Jesus says will happen to those who hang around but don’t remain or “abide” in Him (v. 2, 6). So how do you stay connected to Jesus? Christine understood how! You let Jesus’ words and love remain in you. As I told you, Christine knew God’s Word and applied it to her life until the very end. God’s love was in her and this is why she was able to love so many people. She bore fruit because she stayed connected to Jesus. I know she so desperately wanted this for her family. She would even talk to me about her grandkids and how we could encourage you to come to our young adults group at church and cultivate God’s Word into your hearts.
Friends, today Christine has a message for you. Her message is that you would stay connected to Jesus through His Word. “Apart from Him you can do nothing,” John 15:5 says. Jesus is the only way to have life and to bear fruit. Apart from Jesus Christ you and I can do nothing. We can’t save ourselves. Only Jesus can do that! He came down to earth to live perfectly before God. Remember, He was the true vine! In the words of my dear wife Lori, “He who was the ‘Living Vine’ gave his life on a dead tree so that dead sticks could become fruit-bearing branches.” Jesus died so that we might have life and that death may be killed. He killed death by rising from the grave. There is great hope in this truth because when we physically die, we going on spiritually living as Christine is doing right now. But Christine is not just living, she is living with full joy in the presence of Jesus and because she is with Christ, she can still bear fruit. If you will trust your life to Jesus Christ today you can be that fruit! Will you today stay connected to Jesus like Christine did? Will you live a life of love like Christine did? Only that fruit will last!
to do as we please but they are linked with Jesus’ name and reputation. This is why Jesus reiterates this promise in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” The resources available to us are to be used for fruit-bearing – producing Christ-like character in us and others and we must be found faithful in that task. Jesus’ instructions about how to use His resources serve as the deciding factor as to what we can ask for. (I liken this to how my father gave me a signed blank cheque but emphasized that this cheque was to cover emergencies and unforeseen needs; not so that Lori and I could go party.) Likewise, Jesus’ instructions on the proper ways to use His money can be found in His Word – the Bible!
