Smiling at a Funeral

I went to a funeral today. You could call it more of a celebration. One of our Deacons and oldest members went home to be with the Lord. When the news broke that he had finally gone home, there was a celebratory relief rather than a depressing cloud. This man truly loved the Lord.

There was no need to make up nice things about this man. He was truly a nice man. He was a servant for the Lord. But you know how it is. Some funerals are just attempts to help people get through a hard time by talking about how a person was such a good person and as result is now in a "better place". You hear things about "the man upstairs", or how the dearly departed is now doing his/her favorite thing with angels. All of these jokes and antidotes are an attempt to ignore our own mortality and a flight from the weighty questions of life and death. There was no need to talk about this brother as a nice man...there was a confidence in where our brother now resides.

There was no need to put on a fake smile when we as Christians, today, have the confidence to smile at death. There is no need to comfort ourselves with nonsense and our best guess as to what happens when someone dies. We already know and are confident in what we do not see and sure of what he hope for.

Our Deacon and friend is serving at the feet of the risen Lord Jesus Christ because he had faith in Jesus Christ and was redeemed and now glorified by Jesus Christ. There were so many smiles today. People were laughing and joking. Sure we miss our brother as we will miss many others as we get older and people continue to die. But what I saw today was true joy. Joy in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.