04/02/2018
TRIBUTE to Pastor Edwin D. O'Neal: On the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of the Celebration of the Life of Pastor Edwin D. O'Neal, I write to commend you. First to his family, I commend you for remaining strong in the face of loss, for remaining a tight-knit group (he would most definitely have wanted that!), and for continuing the work he began; to you I extend my commendation.
To his church family, I commend you for the years you were there in support of the Promise Driven Ministries, growing and learning together. I commend you for your support of the O'Neal family and for honoring Pastor O'Neal's legacy by maintaining your relationship with the Lord. Keep going and growing in the Lord!
On this occasion I also want to remind you of the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote these words in I Thessalonians 4:13-16:
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Three things leap to mind as I read this familiar passage: 1) Christians have Hope, even when dealing with the death of a loved one, 2) Christ is coming again to reunite with His children, and 3) We will be with the Lord forever! Regardless of what is happening in the world today: crime, drug epidemic, people being gunned down in the streets (some by the police who are supposed to protect and serve), the Christian has hope for a better tomorrow because our hope is not in man or in this world, our hope is in the Lord. That is reassuring because though He was crucified, He arose, and He is alive forevermore. If death couldn’t hold him, then nothing is going to keep Him from returning to be reunited with all those who await His appearing. Finally, to be with Christ forever means we will live in perfection—no pains, no aches, no sickness, no death, no sorrow. We will never have to say goodbye, just “see you later.”
To the family and friends of Pastor Edwin D. O’Neal, let us look forward to the day when our hope is realized that is, when Christ returns to claim His children; both “the dead in Christ” Pastor Edwin D. O’Neal and “we which are alive and remain” (the rest of God’s faithful children). Let this hope fill our hearts as we celebrate Pastor Edwin O’Neal's life and legacy! May God continue to richly bless us all.
John Washington, II, Esq.
Post Office Box 6801
Tallahassee, Florida 32314
