A time to reflect

My wife's uncle died last week-end and we went to his funeral on Wednesday. He was related to my wife by marriage and I'd never met his side of the family. I wish I'd have gotten to know him better. But we always say that don't we? We never seem to have the time to get to know someone while we have the chance and once they are gone, we've lost our chance. Oh, there are still stories about them. Their loved ones will be reminded of something that they hadn't thought about for years. But you can't go back and ask them, "Did that really happen?"

Funerals are a sad time but in a sense, you can be grateful that it wasn't you or someone closer to you. And in a sense, as Christians, we should be glad that the person who died is now at rest and with the Lord. They don't have the pain they had before. They don't have the problems they had before. But on the other hand, they won't have a chance to see new, wonderful things happening. They won't get to eat their favorite food again. They won't hear their favorite song again. I think we are right to be sad and somber at funerals. The people who have loved them and depended on them will miss them.

We just need to temper our sadness with hope. Remember:

He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

Philippians 3:21 New Living Translation

I have nothing profound to say, I guess. Everything I've said sounds trite. For as many funerals as I've been to and for as many times as I've thought about this, I have nothing new to say.

The picture here is just for effect. It comes from this site.