A Funeral and A Wedding
“Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting….” Ecclesiastes 7:2
This weekend for me was bittersweet. All ready to travel out of town for a wedding that I was singing at, my plans somewhat became altered when I received word that a dear family friend of ours died. Saturday, I attended both a funeral and a wedding. As I was sitting in the quiet church listening to the organ, I remembered that I hate funerals. I know that for a believer, they are celebrations… I know that we are to rejoice…but I’ve never been able to do that during a funeral. I just sit and stare at the coffin. Saturday, I finally admitted to myself something that I’ve known for a long time, but never really vocalized….. I struggle with the concept of death. I sat there watching all of the people sign into the guest book asking myself… who is this for? I bawled as I watched the family somberly walk into the sanctuary and thought… how could I EVER hold it together? I listened to the pastor speak… the above verse was quoted in his message. I remember my brother commenting that he didn’t really understand it….. I just kept staring at that casket and thinking about death. We are gone. Life is over. We leave our bodies. And then I realized that all we take with us when our heart stops beating…..and we stop breathing… all we have is our relationship with Christ. That’s it people. I just kept thinking about that over and over again.
All around me were beautiful stain glass windows…..all depicting scenes of Jesus. Jesus was everywhere….He IS everywhere….and I found myself asking the question….”Am I living with my funeral in mind?” I mean, I know this is somewhat morbid… but seriously…. am I living with the mentality that my life on earth will one day end…. it will….and what kind of relationship will I take with me to my Maker. I believe there is a heaven….I believe that Christ has prepared a place for us… for those who believe in Jesus…that He is our Savior… the Son of God.. sent to earth as a baby…… that He died for our sins… was raised from the dead….and reigns forever… I believe when we believe those things then we will join Him for eternity after we die. The last song that we sang was “Lift High the Cross”.
All the way home I kept singing that song in my head….”lift high the Cross”. Am I living daily with the Cross lifted high in my heart and mind and soul? That is where true relationship begins with Jesus…at the Cross. That is where He made it possible for us to come to Him… for us to talk with Him and rely on Him…. That is why the veil in the temple was torn… He is no longer unapproachable. He is no longer covered… He wants to cover US!! Therefore, am I lifting high the cross when I deal with my children? am I lifting high the cross as I face struggles and trials in my life. Where am I looking? am I looking to Christ? Why would I look anywhere else for anything that I needed…. Christ is the ONLY THING that I am able to keep with me from the time I believe in him…through my death… and into eternity.
Later that night I went on to my wedding….and what a beautiful wedding it was…especially the reception. Sunset…..outside…waterfront…music…delicious food…..BEAUTIFUL! It was a celebration…. we were all having a ball and then that Ecclesiastes verse crawled all over me…….finally making sense. See, I was compelled to think about the finality of life during that funeral… I was compelled to consider my relationship with Christ… ask the REAL life questions…. It was GOOD for me to be in the house of mourning! do you know what I was thinking when we walked into that tent adorned with fruit and chocolate, crab cakes and roast beef, crackers and cheese……do you really want to know? Well, it was more like how many plates can I fill my first round…. It was more along the lines of how may I achieve a life of gluttony, verses a righteous one. I looked down at my wedding program and smiled. The last song played was “Lift High the Cross”. So appropriate to end my day… to end a wedding…. to end a life… to conclude a funeral. Lift high the Cross, my dear friends. …..in sorrow, in joy….lift it up. It is the Cross that gives us joy in our Celebrations and it is the Cross that sends us hope and carries us through our tribulations. It should always have it’s place lifted up in the forefront of our hearts and from that will flow fountains of life!
So here I am on this Monday. I’m, of course, tired…. I ate too much this weekend….my neck is a little stiff from the long drive….and I wish that I had about eight hours more in this day to think and write… there are so many things that I wish I could go back and do differently…. so many times I became angered with my kids last week…. I wish I could have been lifting up the cross on those days… but the beautiful thing about Christ is that He makes us new every day… every minute… So I suppose I will close this entry and tell whoever out there that is feeling like they’ve blown it… there is no blowing it in Christianity. What Jesus offers us along with eternal salvation, is everlasting forgiveness, grace, mercy and love. Walk in these. Grab hold of them. He will cover you. He will sustain you. His love is real…..His love is life!
