This morning I was at the church working at 4:30. In the middle of a very busy day already one of our families has a loved one to bury. Everything else is rescheduled when that happens. People are too important. As I thought about the service this morning I reflected on the hundreds of funerals I have done over the years...many close friends, many I dearly loved, it's a difficult time for family, but it might surprise you that it is hard for the pastor as well. In these solemn times we are dealing with mortality and it makes everything vivid, raw and emotional...even for guys like me who have spoken at hundreds of these services.
In the midst of death important things become very clear. What is most clear, if only for a moment, is what really matters. We are busy living for food, cars, houses and things, but in death we see....if only briefly....that the only important things around us are the people. You see, the only eternal things you will ever encounter (other than God himself) are people. All the cars, houses, things and stuff will rot, rust, decay or be thrown out, but people...they last forever! Even in a funeral service, when it appears there is an end, we all know that person lives on still. There is built into each of us the awareness of our eternity ahead. The woman I will speak for today chose the right things to invest in...she chose people. She had little, but was wealthy beyond measure because she invested in eternal things....the people who will be at the service today.
It reminds me once more that the only important things, the only eternal things, are people. It reminds me to check my priorities. How am I investing my life? What's important to me? Each one you meet will live forever! Don't pass by too quickly, don't dismiss them, don't abuse them. Every one is created by God to live forever, prize each one as a precious jewel...because they are.
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