What do you want said at your funeral?
I know it is kind of a hard thing to think about.
Kind of. . .well. . .morbid.
But we will all die one day and so I ask the question again:
What do you want said at your funeral?
Maybe you want some of these things to be expressed by those you leave behind:
“He/she really loved and cared for his/her family.”
“He/she was so kind, so generous, so thoughtful.”
“When I was down, he/she picked me up and encouraged my soul.”
“He/she was always there for me in the hard times.”
“I could tell him/her anything and I knew I would not be rejected.”
“He/she was such a person of integrity, truth, honesty.”
“When I was with him/her, I knew without a doubt that I was truly loved.”
I think we would all like for things like this to be said when they lay us in the ground, wouldn’t we?
But there is something I want said at my funeral that means so much more to me.
Infinitely more.
And in a way, it isn’t even about me.
It’s about God.
I want people at my funeral to hear of God’s goodness. God’s tender mercy. God’s faithfulness. God’s love.
I really don’t want people to walk out of my funeral saying, “Wow, Mark was such a great person.”
No, no, no!
I want them to walk out of my funeral saying, “What a great God God is! What a faithful God! What a good God!”
If they don’t know God, I want them to walk out saying, “I want this God in my life. I want to know Him. I must know Him!”
Yes, I desire deeply for people to see the beauties of Almighty God through my funeral.
And I want them to see Jesus. To see why Jesus came. To invite Jesus to be their Savior from the penalty (hellfire) of their sins and truly follow him. I want them to know when their body is one day laid in the ground, their soul will already be safely in Heaven with their loving, good, faithful Creator.
I want my family to play this song at the end of my funeral:
Here are the lyrics (by Twila Paris, based in part on Psalm 100:5 in the Tawrat):
Oh Lord, You Have Been Good
You Have Been Faithful to All Generations
Oh Lord, Your Steadfast Love
And Tender Mercy Have Been Our Salvation
For By Your Hand We Have Been Fed
And By Your Spirit We Have Been Led
Oh Lord
For By Your Hand We Have Been Fed
And By Your Spirit We Have Been Led
Oh Lord, Almighty God
Father Unchanging, Upright and Holy
Oh Lord, You Have Been Good
You Have Been Good
You Have Been Faithful, You Have Been Good
What about you?
What do you want said at your funeral?
It would say……..
It was a life well-lived—I go without regret
From a purely human viewpoint, I think we would all like to be able to say that.
My over-riding passion in this life is to help people have no regret when they meet their Creator and Judge in the next life. And I think you have read enough of my blog to know what I believe about that. “Good” people won’t always make it to Heaven. Only those who put their faith in the person and work of Jesus. “Forgiven” people make it to Heaven:
“Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.
But — When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” (Paul’s letter to Titus in the Bible, chapter 3, verses 3-7)
I know I sure don’t deserve forgiveness or heaven or God’s great love. If I did, I would have something to boast about before God. So I just want my funeral to be a time to boast about God, not me. His grace is reason for my funeral to be a true celebration!
and you probably know that for us Muslims (and Jews too) there is no original sin that is inherited—God forgives when we ask him for mercy.
What happens to my soul after death is for God to decide—what is in my control because of God-given (limited) free-will is how I can live my life here on earth.
My perspective colored by my religion—makes sense to me….perhaps it may not to you. On the other hand, yours does not make sense to me, even though it may to you.
I simply appreciate the continued sharings of our verses, thoughts, beliefs.
No, I don’t understand everything you believe. But I am learning. I am listening. To me, that is a big positive in this world of conflict.
I just wish more people would share with each other in this way.
My humble prayer is that at least some will be inspired by this blog to talk across the cultural and religious valleys that have existed between us for so long.
I want people who have never met to meet and anticipate a greater reunion one day. I long for people to hear the hope of the resurrection and to know that all the pain & shame I faced in this world for Jesus’ sake was worth it.
Mert, it is my joy to call you a friend in this world and the next. 2 sinners – saved only by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus.
If I am alive and at your funeral, I hope to speak in short testimony about a man (you!) who inspired me:
Your love for Jesus
Your love for your wife
Your love for the Gospel – the Good News that God sent Jesus to die in our place so we could have eternal life
Your love for those who have not yet heard the Gospel
Your perseverance in suffering–all because of love