a funeral vs. a celebration

On thursday i attended a funeral at our church in jamestown. a lady in the church had bone cancer and passed away monday. a lot of people don't like going to funerals. I, however, am not one of these people. I sometimes wonder what my funeral will be like. Will there be a lot of people? Will be people be crying? Will someone come that I havent seen in years? All those things I have thought about concerning my funeral. That is until yesterday. The Pastor that did the funeral made a statement, "Funeral's are for people that don't know Jesus. Celebrations are for people who die in Christ." There have never been more true words spoken. The "funeral" i went to yesterday quickly turned into a CELEBRATION b/c of the lady's life. She died in Christ and no one there could claim anything different.

Over 10 years ago i made a commitment to Jesus to change and save my life. At the same time I made a commitment not to have a funeral but to have a celebration. There is nothing sad about someone passing away that is a Christian. There is nothing sad about someone passing away that is now alive in Christ.

Paul questions in Philippians whether he wants to say alive or die and be with God. He concluded that it's better for the people around him that he's alive until his work is done. If we can live our lives with a purpose and that kind of mindset that it's more important for the people around us that we live than die, that will not only change our life but the people's lives around us. The challenge for all of us is to live a life that reflects Jesus so that it impacts and influences people around us.

I cant wait for people to celebrate my life when i'm gone. But until then my life will be lived with purpose to impact the people around me for Jesus Christ. Then and only then will people celebrate my life, like we did yesterday.

stay HUMBLED

stay FOCUSED

love GOD

love PEOPLE