Unfortunately, I had to do a funeral this past weekend. I do not like speaking at funerals, however, it’s easier when the person was a Christian. Funerals are a great reminder of our mortality, and for the believer, it is the doorway into our next adventure.
1 Cor. 15:54-55 says, When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
When it was time during the funeral for me to speak, I began with this account of creation from the incredible writer Max Lucado.
They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within Him. God’s form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one. The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks freshened. A finger moved and an eye opened.
But more incredible than the moving of flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped. Perhaps it was the wind who said it first. Perhaps what the stars saw that moment is what has made them blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it: “It looks like… it appears so much like…it is Him!”
The angel wasn’t speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside–at the soul. “It’s eternal!” gasped another.
Within the man, God had placed a divine seed. A seed of his self. The God of might had created, not a creature, but another creator. And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return.
What an excellent reminder of the Father’s love for us, and His desire to be in a relationship with His creation. We will all face death one day, I hope for you and all you know that it is simply a step into the next adventure of fully knowing God’s great love for us.
