On the way to the office this morning I called a good friend and the subject of death came up. He recently did a funeral for a 97 year old Christian. This person had one major request and they made sure their wishes were known well in advance. The request was to be buried within 24 hours of their death.
There may have been several reasons for that request but the main one was so that people would not spend their time dealing with a funeral for several days. This person wanted others to concentrate on taking care of the living and in their words, let the dead bury their dead. This person said that others had 97 years to look after them and that time had now passed.
I like that, not that this person died but that this person was ready to go. Not only that, this person was ready for others who were still alive to live and make the lives of others better at the same time.
There is a lot to be said about dying well. I have said to our Sr. Pastor, “the church needs to teach our people to die well”. That is not to be morbid but to be real. God put us on this earth and gave us a number of days and we should make the best of every day. We should live our lives to where there are no regrets when the day comes and we are to die.
Death in this body is actually a time to celebrate because at that time we are going to be with the Lord. I know it is not a time that you loved ones will rejoice you are gone but it is certainly a time that your loved ones can rejoice that you will live forever and that your suffering in this life is over. That is what we believe as Christians.
I have told my oldest son Michael many times that when it is my time to die, I am blessed. He and the rest of the family will certainly be sad that I am gone but they will have no doubt about where I am, and in that they should rejoice. They can also rejoice that we will all spend eternity together.
Let’s live every day as if it were our last. Leave nothing important undone, when it comes to people. Assure those close to you that you are ready and that will help them to in turn help others.
Ronnie