It would be easy
to see a service dedicated to the memory of those loved ones that have passed
away as a mournful service. I disagree
to some extent. There is a very real
resurrection that cuts off the despair from running wild in our hearts. But, there is also the way in which God
redeems even death for those who remain and struggle through
grief. Thomas a Kempis, writing in the
15th century, advised…
“Happy is he that always has the hour of his death before his eyes, and daily prepares himself to die…When it is morning, think that you may die before night; and when evening comes, dare not to promise yourself the next morning. Be therefore always in readiness and so lead your life that death never takes you unprepared.”
There is a
reason God calls us to “number our days” so that we may live wisely and
obediently to Christ. Death is sorrowful
only if we have no hope beyond it. But,
in view of the hope of the resurrection of all those in Christ, it now becomes
a tool to help us focus on the Kingdom of God.
So instead of leaving such a service with sorrow and gloom, I say,
“Praise God!”
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