Tomorrow morning I will be preaching my third funeral in 6 days. I've noticed as a pastor that these events seem to come in "3's". While that may be randomly true some of the time, the reality is that death is a daily part of life. I have never found the obituary page of the local newspaper blank due to nothing to print. Ecclesiastes 3.2 reminds us that there is "a time to be born, and a time to die" and that happens everyday! Hebrews 9.27 says, "It is appointed once for a man to die and after that to face the judgment."
I always count it an honor to preach at a funeral. When I meet with a family to discuss/plan the service, I share with them my three aims of a funeral. First, is to bring honor and glory to God. Second, to honor the life of the deceased person in some manner. And last, to being comfort and hope to those who gather for the occasion. In a crazy way, I really love to preach at a funeral. It is a prime moment to "be" Christ to people and share his glorious gospel of hope. For the most part, I find that at a funeral, folks are actually still enough to at least consider the subject of death...especially since they are most of the time starring at a casket place in front of them. I think that people genuinely listen better because they are considering what is being talked about. I always talk clearly about the gospel and its availability to all. It's just too ripe of an opportunity to miss out on that.
At about 11 in the morning, my seemingly usual pattern of "3's" will be complete, or at least I hope so. If it changes to "4's", I'll be ready to share life at another death!
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