Friday, October 30, 2009

REFLECTIONS ON A FUNERAL

I Went to a memorial service last evening, a friend of about 12 years. He was 57 years old, left an 18 year old son, who I am very fond of. When someone close, even a little close, goes Home, you have to give it some thought from many different angles. Glenn said more than once that he was ready…that close to death, I am compelled to believe him. And, better yet, his life showed love for and service to the Lord. I also have a brother, my natural brother, seriously ill and waiting for a liver transplant. Last year in May, one of my best friends went to Heaven and since then, two lady friends from Malaga also went home…I know I’m not young anymore, truly am ready to go whenever He says so, but I wonder how many people I run into every day could say the same thing????  Personally, I am hoping to be “caught up” in the rapture of the church! I truly believe this is the generation that will experience that event in the “alive and remain” condition, I Thess 4:15.  Soooooooo…the question becomes, am I being a living witness to those I come in contact  with and showing forth to others what a “filled with the Spirit” believer looks like? I trust so, it is becoming increasingly important to me as I grow older and more and more of my friends go Home.

In thinking this through I came up with a few thoughts, and here they are:

1. Scripture, in Psa 37 tells us not to ‘fret.” Fretting is an old word, but has great meaning. Fretting is fussing within your mind. We all do that from time to time and it is not a good thing. Worry and anxiety will be the undoing of this generation, so God tells us don’t! Another part of not fretting and aggravating yourself is to remember, if you are doing your best, that is all God requires. He accepts no less but expects no more.

2. Don’t hurry…take the time to do things right. It always takes more time to go back and undo, then redo…so take it easy, and completely.

3. In situations with other people, get all the facts before you draw a conclusion or form an opinion. There are a lot of people walking around with wounds you can’t see…and usually, their perception is twisted and they will react badly to a negative report. Best to give the benefit of the doubt initially, even if you have to back up later. Jesus told us to, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”…Lk 6:3.

4. Don’t look at a difficult task as impossible…try it first. If you are where the Lord wants you to be, doing His will for you, difficult tasks only give Him a bigger platform from which to work.

5. Keep your priorities straight…don’t go for the trivial or unimportant, keep the main thing, the main thing.

6. Don’t procrastinate…one of my greatest hangups, (sin, really). Are you known as a “doer” or do others consider you undependable????? Be honest, if you are undependable, quit it. My friend that we memorialized last night, …HE was dependable. He was always around to do for me whatever I asked him to do…and I will miss that quality as well as he himself.

In summing up my reflections on the passing of my friend, or friends if I go back a year, I think we Christians need to remember the words of James 2:18, that our faith in Christ shows itself in the things we do…how quickly, how completely, how fully and how happily we attack the task at hand. After all, Paul told us to “do all things as unto the Lord,”  whether we want to or not…just do it! Time is short, we need to be about the Father’s business instead of our own, living out our profession, as best we know how.

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