I could scarcely believe my ears when the voice on the other end of the phone asked me if I was available to preach a funeral. This is not abnormal. Inconceivably the funeral was for the same family I had ministered to and blogged about (See: Out of Place) less than two weeks ago. This time a grieving widow now mourned the loss of her thirty-year old son. Thirty years old. I thought about seeing him seated next to his mother at his dad’s funeral. None of us dreamed we would be reassembled again so shortly after the other funeral. Was this coincidence or providence?
In all my years of preaching I have never conducted two funerals for the same family that close together. I am not sure of all the circumstances surrounded the young man’s life but tragically he died due to some infection. They cremated his body and had a memorial service. People wore sleeveless t-shirts, jeans, and hats even during the service. Not one man removed his hat during the entire memorial. People continually got up and down, talked, and went to the restroom.
This family did not appear to have any relationship with the Lord. They played ten rock and roll songs. Yes, I said ten! I sat on the stage listening to the despair in each song and the godless message while captivated by three pictures of the young man at the front of the funeral home chapel. There were piercings, tattoos, Mohawk haircuts, and a total lack of reverence during the service.
When I got up to speak I laid out the hope of forgiveness and eternal life with Jesus contrasted with judgment and wrath of God who rejected God’s salvation. I did not pull any punches and at the same time my heart broke for the sobbing widowed wife of less than two weeks who was dealing with the added grief of mourning the death of her son. I have to confess I do not understand why some people seemingly die prematurely. I know from [Heb 9:27] that God appoints our death. Some die at ripe old ages while others die in infancy. [Eccl 3:1-2] “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven – a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time uproot what is planted.” For whatever reason this thirty-year old man’s appointed time was earlier than any of us thought.
My soul grieved for those family members without a relationship with Christ. Christians can grieve but they can do so with the hope of Heaven. Non-Christians grieve but there is no hope. Nothing takes the sting away. Fairy tale made up theology states everybody gets to Heaven. Such thinking comforts people by saying everyone gets a free pass. There are no consequences for sin. One of the most used clichés is that people are better off and are in a better place after they die. This is not always the case. The sobering reality before me as I preached that funeral reminded me that many are in a worse place and worse off as they suffer in the agony and torment of Hell. They will experience the damnation of their souls for eternity or time without end.
I was out of place at the first funeral for this family but at the second one I did not feel out of place. I felt divinely appointed to be there. In hindsight I can now see I was not at the first funeral by coincidence but by God’s providence. God knew full well as they gathered at the gravesite of the first funeral our paths would cross again in less than two weeks. God placed me there to minister hope and speak the truth about death and what happens afterwards. Even as I write this I am panged in my heart that a father and a son could very well be suffering the anguish of Hell. If they were not saved as a result of a relationship with Jesus, there is no hope.
I do not want to be numb to this. I need this truth to penetrate my heart. I need the weight of God’s wrath in Hell to wake me from my spiritual slumber. People perish every day. They perish right here in Gaines county. Many times those who perish have no relationship with Christ and do not understand the stakes. Far too often the church goes on with business as usual without contemplating the truth that eternity hangs in the balance.
I cannot tell you that anyone was saved after that funeral. I can tell you that truth was preached and everyone there is without excuse. May the Lord convict hearts and draw them to repentance.
I left that funeral bewildered that I had stood before the same unchurched family twice in less than two weeks. I do not believe in coincidence. I don’t know why God chose me to minister to this family who do not have a relationship with another minister. God providentially put me there. I was there to throw out the rescue line of the gospel so they could be saved. I did my part and Christ did His part on the cross. Now, I trust the Holy Spirit to do His part as well.
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