Not long ago, I attended yet another funeral of yet another wonderful woman who had died, surrounded by her loving children, after having spent nearly 90 faith-filled years on Planet Earth.
This woman's funeral was held in a church packed with family and friends. Over the course of an hour or so, we sang some of her favorite hymns – “In the Garden,” “When Morning Gilds the Skies,” and “How Great Thou Art," to be specific. We heard some comforting readings from Scripture, a fine sermon, and a number of heartfelt prayers. And we listened to several relatives talk about what a terrific mother, aunt and grandmother she'd been, and what a great example of Christian faith she had set for them.
There were some tears, but mostly underscored by radiant smiles. It turns out that most of the woman’s family members are believers themselves. They haven’t lost her; they know exactly where she is, and know that they will be reunited with her eternally one happy day. And so they are able to rejoice over her home-going.
What a contrast to the secular funerals I’ve been to over the years, where uncertainty or unbelief have reigned.
It makes me wonder once again how anyone can approach the inevitability of death without investigating what comes next, and what our options might be.
If that sounds like you, allow me to pose some critically important questions: What if Christianity is true? What if eternity exists, and you will spend it in either heaven or hell? What if your ultimate destination depends not on how good you have been in this life, or how popular or how rich, but solely on whether or not you trusted in Christ to have paid the penalty for your sin?
Millions of people have believed just that over the centuries. Some of us even came to this conclusion after investigating the subject exhaustively.
Doesn’t it strike you as the epitome of foolishness to refuse to consider it?
I spent almost a half century of my life in precisely that foolish state. Year after year, I told myself that no one could possibly know what happens after death, although I have no idea where I got that idea – certainly not as a result of any exhaustive intellectual inquiry. I reserved that inquiry for the 15 months following the biggest heartbreak of my life. And it led me to the doubt-free conclusion that Christianity is Truth -- absolute, unshakable, unchanging, eternal Truth.
If you haven’t yet investigated this most important question, what exactly is stopping you? It can’t possibly be worth the risk of spending eternity in hell.
Here’s a good place to begin. And here's another. I sincerely hope that you'll check them out. Then, if I can help you with your quest in any way, don't hesitate to let me know.
This woman's funeral was held in a church packed with family and friends. Over the course of an hour or so, we sang some of her favorite hymns – “In the Garden,” “When Morning Gilds the Skies,” and “How Great Thou Art," to be specific. We heard some comforting readings from Scripture, a fine sermon, and a number of heartfelt prayers. And we listened to several relatives talk about what a terrific mother, aunt and grandmother she'd been, and what a great example of Christian faith she had set for them.
There were some tears, but mostly underscored by radiant smiles. It turns out that most of the woman’s family members are believers themselves. They haven’t lost her; they know exactly where she is, and know that they will be reunited with her eternally one happy day. And so they are able to rejoice over her home-going.
What a contrast to the secular funerals I’ve been to over the years, where uncertainty or unbelief have reigned.
It makes me wonder once again how anyone can approach the inevitability of death without investigating what comes next, and what our options might be.
If that sounds like you, allow me to pose some critically important questions: What if Christianity is true? What if eternity exists, and you will spend it in either heaven or hell? What if your ultimate destination depends not on how good you have been in this life, or how popular or how rich, but solely on whether or not you trusted in Christ to have paid the penalty for your sin?
Millions of people have believed just that over the centuries. Some of us even came to this conclusion after investigating the subject exhaustively.
Doesn’t it strike you as the epitome of foolishness to refuse to consider it?
I spent almost a half century of my life in precisely that foolish state. Year after year, I told myself that no one could possibly know what happens after death, although I have no idea where I got that idea – certainly not as a result of any exhaustive intellectual inquiry. I reserved that inquiry for the 15 months following the biggest heartbreak of my life. And it led me to the doubt-free conclusion that Christianity is Truth -- absolute, unshakable, unchanging, eternal Truth.
If you haven’t yet investigated this most important question, what exactly is stopping you? It can’t possibly be worth the risk of spending eternity in hell.
Here’s a good place to begin. And here's another. I sincerely hope that you'll check them out. Then, if I can help you with your quest in any way, don't hesitate to let me know.
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