Funerals > Parties

"A good name is better than precious ointment,

and the day of death than the day of birth.

It is better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting,

for this is the end of all mankind,

and the living will lay it to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of face the heart is made glad." 

- Ecclesiastes 7:1-3

Since I have known Christ, this passage has always resonated deeply with me.

By my early teens I had only been to a handful of funerals, but each one remained vivid in memory.

To sit in a pew and face the bitter reality of death grips my soul like no revival or altar call probably ever will. To walk beside an open casket and see the lifeless body reminds me of just how fragile and temporal this life truly is.

I remember standing on my tippy toes as a toddler to peer over my grandfather’s body, not fully understanding the weight of the situation.

My lack of understanding stemmed from my youth, but I think many fall back into this state. We don’t understand and we don’t want to. Death makes us regretfully uncomfortable.

So many want a quick, closed-casket service and to simply move on with their lives, but we must all come to terms with the fact that death is as much a part of life as birth.

There is something powerful about staring death in the face - knowing that is our end - and considering whether we, too, are ready to face it.

Try to imagine what will be said of you at your own funeral. Were you a worry wart or a prayer warrior? Were you selfish or selfless? Did you live surrendered to the Lordship of Christ or were you only concerned about people's opinions?

It seems that this generation of Christians' favorite Bible phrase is "judge not." But what many fail to realize is that God is our ultimate Judge and because He is both righteous and just, He must pour out His wrath on the wicked.

Regardless of what men may say of you when you die, each individual person will be held accountable for their actions to God.

No one can be righteous before God and enter into heaven except through Jesus Christ.

How sweet the gospel is knowing one day the dead in Christ shall be resurrected!

"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, 

about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve 

as others do who have no hope. For since we believe

 that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, 

God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 // bold mine