My wife will tell you that I definitely hate funerals. They are hard for me. Especially open coffin. I don’t want to go anywhere near those. It’s not death that bothers me. And I’m not afraid of dying. Because…I know where I’m going. So I don’t know what it is about funerals. But they bug me. I’ve been honored and blessed to officiate a couple. And they were difficult. But I got through them because my focus was on the service and not on “being at” a funeral. If that makes sense.
As I stated earlier, I am not afraid of dying because I know where I’m headed. I’m going to get to spend eternity with Jesus. And I’m going to be reunited with loved ones who have gone before. Nothing better than that. But something else also comes to mind when I think about death. It’s when Jesus came into my life. When I accepted him, a part of me died. He killed the sin in my life. He destroyed it. He took it away. So part of me died. My life began a-new. It was a new beginning. Sin had been in charge of my life before Jesus. I was a slave to it. But no more.
Now, that doesn’t mean sin goes away. That doesn’t mean temptations go away. Nothing can be further from the truth. They’re not going anywhere. Sin is part of this world. Temptations are part of this world. We face them daily. They are going to try to creep back into our lives and drag us down. Every day from now on. There will be no end. But as powerful as the temptations are, always remember this, Jesus is more powerful. As strong as the sin used to be in our lives, they have no chance against the strength of Jesus. And with Jesus in our lives, there’s no need to fear death. Because when we die here on earth, we will then spend eternity with him. And that is not a punishment or condemnation. That is a blessing. And that is awesome.
