Good morning, friends. Welcome to Wednesday Wisdom, the corner of my blog where we explore sage counsel from the Bible as well as from people sharing from the depths of their human experience. The Bible makes it clear that wise counsel is something to be sought after rather than spurned.
Without counsel plans fail,
but with many advisers they succeed.Proverbs 15:22 ESV
Since eulogizing my Father in 2008, the Lord has granted me the privilege of walking with many people through grief and death. Serving as a funeral celebrant is a cornerstone of my ministry. It’s just what I do.
Naturally, over the years, I’ve learned a thing or two about funerals that I didn’t know when God launched me on this honorable path. That’s how ministry is, oftentimes. You learn as you go.
Ministry offers ample opportunities for celebration. Weddings, anniversaries, births, baptisms, and graduations, to name a few. Funerals, although a time of mourning and reflection, can also be a celebration. For believers, death is a homecoming. Funerals are a time for those left behind not only to grieve, but to celebrate a life well-loved and well-lived. I am grateful for the many opportunities God has provided for me to walk with people during this part of their life journey. It’s truly a blessing and an honor.
The Holy Bible, God’s Word, offers wisdom on how to approach death.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, it is written, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die.” In this passage, Solomon reminds us that life runs its cycles. Death is an inevitable part of the human experience. We are born to die. It’s what we do with the dash in the middle that matters.
In Romans 12:15, we are encouraged to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Here, the Apostle Paul highlights the importance of community and support during times of grief, underscoring the value of being present with those who are mourning. Sitting in grief is a terrible time to suffer alone.
Moreover, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 offers hope in the face of death, saying, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” Paul’s words assure us that death is not the end for believers. This knowledge brings comfort to those who mourn.
Funerals can also serve as a time of remembrance and celebration of a person’s life. In John 11:35, we see Jesus grieving the death of his dear friend Lazarus, weeping as He demonstrated that it is perfectly natural and righteous to mourn and feel sorrow.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
John 11:32-37 NIV
To mourn is to be human. After expressing his grief, Jesus revealed His power over death by raising Lazarus. May this inspire faith and hope in us who are mourning.
In summary, funerals are a time for mourning, support, celebration, and remembrance. However, they also invite us to reflect on the hope we have in Christ even in the midst of our grief.
Thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave a comment about this post down below.
Until my next post…
Be salty, stay lit.
Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™
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The Devotional Guy™ 