What Funerals Are Trying to Tell You
Funerals force a question we try to avoid—are you ready for what comes next?
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4 ESV).
Last year, our family mourned the loss of our beloved father. We gathered to share memories, to formally say goodbye, and to commemorate the memory of our loved one. The goal was to grieve together and be comforted.
Funerals teach us there is more to life than work, social media, sports, full calendars or full bellies.
Funerals emphasis what matters. Did we matter to anyone? Is there hope of something good beyond the grave?
We’re forced to ask, “Why did our loved one die?” We act like we’re immortals: tomorrow is in a never ending future. But in the middle of our pursuits, inevitably, each one of us will die. Why?
The Bible says, we were created in God’s image, immortals, but by rejecting God’s way, we “all have sinned,”and sin brings death (Romans 3:23; 6:23a). We’re all separated from God by our desire to pursue everything except Him—or by pursuing a form of spirituality ruled by what we think should be instead of by accepting and obeying God’s Word, the Bible.
It would be a true comfort if somehow we could be re-united with our loved ones.
The Good News: we can! Our immortality can be restored and we can be re-united if we accept “the free gift of God (which) is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b NLT).
When we are re-united with Jesus Christ, we begin to see all our relationships differently—as if through new eyes. What once seemed important fades, and what is eternal comes into focus.
A new desire grows within us: to know God and to introduce others to Jesus. We begin to share His heart—because He is “not willing that anyone perish but that all come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
God’s heart has always been focused on comforting and re-uniting!
Funerals remind us not only to mourn loss, but to mourn our own sin—and to repent while we still have breath. They also remind us to care deeply about the spiritual condition of those we love.
I look forward to that true comfort—the day we are re-united with one another and with our Savior. Don’t you?
Today, take time to reflect on the inevitable: get right with God—and urge your loved ones to do the same.
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