He was a stranger in a strange land, and yet his funeral had the largest attendance the funeral home had ever seen. That is just a small glimpse of the impact of Dr. Raouf Ghattas. The Scripture reading for the funeral was from 1 Thessalonians 4:13 through 5:28. Thank you all for the overwhelming outpouring of love. I am truly overwhelmed, but not surprised by the love shown to my dear sweet man. Love you all.
Of all days to read God’s Word, today is the best, for when we are downhearted and full of grief, we cannot help but find comfort and even joy in reading the Bible. I wish I could write the entire passage to you here, but I’ll leave that to you to read: 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. Here are the highlights that Dr. Raouf would want you all to remember:
“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” “How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies…it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body…Listen I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will ALL be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. Where, O, death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But THANKS BE TO GOD! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. LET NOTHING MOVE YOU. Always give yourself FULLY to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Let us all prove that the years of labor our dear Raouf did for the Lord are not in vain by giving ourselves fully to that same mission and task for the Kingdom and to God’s glory. I love you all and thank you for your outpouring of love and prayers. Carol
[Originally written: Nov. 29, 2015}
Postscript, November 2025: As I look back on the words above, I can still shout out–THANKS BE TO GOD! The sting of death has no power over me, as I’ve watched God move in wondrous and victorious ways in my life, the life of my sons, and in the lives of those who knew and loved Raouf. Even this month, yet another person came to me to share that he had met Raouf and spent time with him. He was so appreciative of Raouf’s teaching and wisdom, both for the church, the man pastored at the time, and in his personal life.
How can I be sad in my grief when God continues to use the impact of my late husband in the lives of people I don’t even know? Over this past decade, I have been blessed to watch many lives of those he loved continue to press on in their love for Christ and the work of the gospel. How can I be sad about that? Death did not gain the upper hand when the natural man died, because Raouf’s natural man had died long ago, when he gave his life to Christ. All that’s left is for the new man to enjoy eternal life in Christ with a new body!
Grace and Peace
Click HERE if you missed last week’s Friday Focus, or click on this LINK to look at other posts about The Grief Walk.
Discover more from A Life in Exile
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.