A Homegoing for Columbus Fuller Young

Death places Columbus beyond human hands, but not beyond human hearts. God gives every life its appointed season, and death reminds the living that every body must one day be laid down. Jesus says, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day,” because night comes when no man can work. That word presses the living toward the opportunity still in their hands.

Scripture places Columbus in the hands of a just God. Luke’s picture of the Hadean world points to paradise and Tartarus, yet no human being can declare which side another soul occupies. God is just, and God is merciful. Human judgment runs ahead too quickly when it tries to send somebody to hell or usher somebody into heaven. Every person falls short, and every person must stand before Christ.

Acts declares that God now commands all men everywhere to repent because He has appointed a day of judgment. God has already given assurance of that day by raising Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrection is not wishful thinking, nor is judgment a matter of human feelings. The Father will send Christ again, and each life will give an account for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

Job asks the question that stands in every funeral home: “If a man die, shall he live again?” Job also tells the truth about earthly life: man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. Trouble reaches from the White House to the outhouse. Yet the question is not whether life held trouble, but whether death gets the final word.

Jesus gives the answer through His own resurrection. The body in the casket is only the house a person lived in. God can give that person another body, and God will bring the dead together for the final viewing. Cremation cannot stop the God who brought the valley of dry bones back together. The greater question connected to eternal life remains, “What must I do to be saved?” Christ died, His blood is available, and salvation calls sinners into Him. Jesus is alive, and His living word is fire shut up in the bones.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Work while the day remains Jesus makes present opportunity urgent. Death ends earthly labor, but it does not end accountability before God. The living must not let grief become only a moment of memory, because grief can become a call to get the house in order. [37:18]
• 2. God alone judges the departed God’s justice and mercy keep human beings from making final declarations about another soul. Human affection can excuse too much, and human resentment can condemn too quickly. Christ alone sees the whole life, the hidden struggle, and the true response to grace. [44:57]
• 3. Judgment is already appointed Acts grounds repentance in a day God has fixed, not in a threat people can negotiate away. Christ’s resurrection guarantees that judgment is real because God has raised the Judge from the dead. Every life therefore carries moral weight before God. [39:24]
• 4. The resurrection answers death’s question Job’s question rises from the graveside with all its force: “If a man die, shall he live again?” God’s power is not limited by decay, burial, or cremation. The God who formed dry bones can summon every body for the final viewing.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [32:46] - Facing Columbus’s Passing
• [36:38] - Out of Human Hands, Not Hearts
• [37:18] - Work While It Is Day
• [39:24] - God Has Appointed Judgment
• [42:30] - The Question of Life After Death
• [44:57] - God Is Just and Merciful
• [46:21] - If a Man Die, Shall He Live Again?
• [49:04] - What Must I Do to Be Saved?
• [51:34] - Few Days and Full of Trouble
• [54:36] - The Hope of Resurrection
• [61:57] - Jesus Is Alive

Bible Reading

John 9:4
“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” [37:18]

Acts 17:30-31
“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” [39:30]

Job 14:14
“If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.” [44:05]

Job 14:1
“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.” [51:55]

Observation questions

1. In John 9:4, what does Jesus say must be done “while it is day,” and what event brings that work to an end? [37:18]
2. According to Acts 17:30-31, what does God command all people to do, and what two reasons does the passage give for that command? [39:30]
3. What two truths about God are held together when speaking about the destiny of those who have died? [44:57]
4. In Job 14:1 and Job 14:14, how are the hardships of earthly life connected with the question of whether a person will live again? [51:55]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says that night is coming when no one can work. What does this mean for the way a believer understands present opportunities to obey God, make peace, serve others, and respond to the gospel? [38:28]
2. Acts 17 says that God has fixed a day of judgment and has given assurance by raising Jesus from the dead. Why does Christ’s resurrection make both Christian hope and personal accountability serious matters? [40:53]
3. If God alone knows the full condition of a departed person’s soul, how should that truth shape the way believers speak about the dead—especially people they loved deeply or struggled with greatly? [45:14]
4. Job asks whether a person who dies shall live again. How does the promise that God can raise and restore the body answer fears about death, decay, burial, or cremation? [47:59]

Application questions

1. What is one matter in your life that you have been putting off—repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, serving, or obedience—that needs attention while it is still day? What would a faithful first step look like this week? [43:25]
2. When death or loss brings fear into your heart, which part of God’s character do you most need to remember: His justice, His mercy, or His power to raise the dead? Why? [44:57]
3. Is there someone whose eternal destiny you have been tempted to decide in your own mind, either by quickly condemning them or assuming too much about them? How can humility before God change the way you speak and pray? [45:14]
4. Acts says God commands all people everywhere to repent. What would repentance look like in one specific area of your life—not merely feeling sorry, but turning toward Christ in action? [39:37]
5. “What must I do to be saved?” is a question every person must take seriously. How would you answer that question from your own faith, and is there anything keeping you from fully trusting and obeying Christ? [49:44]
6. Job says that life is “few of days and full of trouble.” What trouble are you carrying right now, and how does the hope that Jesus is alive give strength to keep walking faithfully? [52:26]
7. Jesus is alive, and His word should not stay silent in His people. Who in your life may need to hear a word of hope about Christ, resurrection, repentance, or eternal life? [01:02:23]