Go to a Funeral

Reading Psalm 39:4-6 reminded me of a resolution Jonathan Edwards made as a young man: "Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death."

Sound morbid, but it's also wise and biblical. Consider Ecclesiastes 7:2, "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart."

Pondering death reminds us of several vitally important truths. First, it reminds us of the fleeting nature of wealth - a point the psalmist makes in v. 6, "Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather."  Once we've pondered the fleeting nature of material wealth, then we're ready to commit ourselves to "storing up treasures in heaven".

Second, thinking on death often helps us live well while we live. Each day is a gift from God and ought to be savored and enjoyed as such. That morbid Puritan Edwards also resolved "to live with all my might, while I do live."

Third, considering our death often compels us to focus on our relationship with the God who will judge (Hebrews 9:27).  This should call us to examine the genuineness of our faith in light of Scripture.

Our culture seems obsessed with avoiding the sad, the morbid, the depressing. But wisdom calls us to consider and prepare for it, and remind ourselves, as the psalmist did, that our "Hope is in You" (v.7).

Dan