I read a lot of history, but it is not the lives of the Roman emperors, military generals, and world leaders that most interest me. The stories I want to hear are the stories that have only been written in heaven, in the books God will open on the last day. I want to hear the stories of my fathers and mothers in the faith, the stories of saints who are unknown and unremembered in this world but who will be remembered and celebrated forever in glory.

There are not many people who remain physically active and mentally sharp at 107. My friend Vivian was one of a very few. I met her many years ago, before she celebrated her 100th birthday. She moved to one of the assisted living facilities where I led worship and teach weekly Bible studies, and she immediately began to attend the services and classes. She was not only a participant; she quickly became the center of life in the group, engaging eagerly in the discussion of the biblical text, commenting on the sermons, and urging everyone she met throughout the week to attend. Every week she brought her Bible, wrote in the margins, and asked questions as we worked through the text.

Vivian was one of the most earnest evangelists I have ever met. She spoke about Jesus to everyone, from fellow residents, to staff, to random visitors. Her patience may have diminished with age. She frequently became very frustrated that so few wanted to go to Bible study. Her urgent invitations sometimes irritated her fellow residents. Every week she would share with me her aggravation that many would not come and seemed to have no interest in the Lord near the end of their lives.

My children grew up going to those worship services at assisted living facilities on Sunday afternoons. They met a cast of characters who became well-known and well-loved, extended members of the family, but Vivian stood out above them all. We had the privilege to sing and pray with true saints in the last years of their lives. We saw some who seemed clearly not to know Christ when we first met them come to true faith. I sat beside the bed, at the hospital or their home, as several of them died. It was obvious from the first time we met Vivian that she knew the Lord and had already been walking with him for a very long time.

I had the privilege many times to sit down and talk to Vivian about her life story. It is something I try to do regularly when I have the opportunity to visit with elderly people. There are not many opportunities anymore to listen to someone who remembers life before the Great Depression, who was an adult before WWII, who lived so many years and had so many adventures. These are the kinds of conversations I anticipate in the resurrection.

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