The House of Mourning

In the first 2.5 weeks of November, my church family suffered 5 losses. Some of these were elderly parents. One was a parent of a friend. He'd been suffering from cancer & waging a brave fight to the end. Another was a man who woke up in the pre-dawn hours to walk miles & miles with his wife. His death was a shock to us all.

Funerals are usually not the most-anticipated event.

But maybe they should be.

When King Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes 7, I think he might've known a thing or 2.

Attending 2 funerals within a week of each other makes a person a bit introspective.

Funerals force us to recognize our own mortality. I was reminded that no one lives forever. Death is the end of us all. It is a fact of life. One day my lungs will stop taking in oxygen, my heart will stop pumping blood throughout my systems, my brain will fail to fire a signal. It may be today, next week, or in 40 years. It might be from a freak accident or disease or old age. It could be painful or slow or scary or all three. It's not for me to know the details, but it's important to confront the reality.

Funerals also force us consider what we will leave behind. Both of the funerals I just attended were standing room only. These men won't be in history books. They didn't hold public office or have a name that most would recognize. But both of them had touched so many lives that the services to honor their lives drew large crowds of mourners. I've heard people asking on social media, "Who would be your 6?" Meaning, who will be the six people given the honor to carry your casket? Will the eulogy be filled with stories of how you were always there for people? Will people speak well of you? Will your children carry on your legacy? Will they share your faith?

Which brings me to my last funeral consideration--funerals force a person to think about what will happen after they die? How can we know what awaits us beyond that last breath? CAN we know what is on the other side of that veil? My friend, the answer is a resounding, "Yes!" The Creator of the Universe gives us all the information we need to know for sure what will happen after this life.

He gave us His Word, the Bible, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to a variety of men over millennia. He preserved Scripture over generations, despite much persecution, church schisms, religious wars, tainted doctrines, and other acts of sinful human beings. Despite being created by & in perfect communion with the God of All Things, the first humans chose to rebel against the boundaries set out for them. Because of their sinful rebellion, death entered as the ultimate end of sin. God in His mercy did not walk away, but instead made a promise to set things right. He would one day pay that death penalty so that we would no longer have to fear death or sin or eternal punishment. So, Jesus, God the Son, took on flesh & lived the perfect sinless life that we could not. His death on a Roman cross paid the debt we could never pay. He was buried & for 3 days, His friends & loved ones didn't know what to think. Women go to put spices on Jesus' body, but they are greeted by angels who tell them that Jesus has risen! More friends go to see the empty tomb. Then, Jesus appears to them multiple times in His resurrected body, proving that not only did He pay the sin debt, He also has conquered death! When we recognize our need for a savior & put our trust in Jesus, we are no longer a prisoner to death or slave to sin. We are free to live for Him in hopeful obedience.

We no longer have to face death with panic or distress.

Yes, death still is painful! Yes, it is still heart-breaking! Yes, it is still frustrating!

But underneath that pain, anger, grief, lament, heartache, doubt.

Under all of that is hope.

Hope that we will be with our Savior. Hope that we will see our loved ones who have believed again. Hope that we will no longer face death. Hope that we will ever live with the Righteous King, the Prince of Peace.

Death has lost its sting because Jesus conquered.