“Before the emergence of the modern hospice movement, dying had become institutionalized, with most deaths occurring in sterile hospital rooms rather than in one’s own bed…. But now the hospice movement has run into serious trouble.” - Humanize
“Christian ethics, while upholding the value of life, also consider the context and conditions under which life is sustained. The critical distinction between allowing natural death and actively causing death informs the Christian stance on life support.” - C.Leaders
The most prominent reality at a funeral is also at the same time the most difficult subject to discuss. That reality, of course, is the subject of death. As one man has noted, “Death is the one experience that will be shared in common by every person …. Every moment we live, the sand in the hourglass of our existence continues to flow, bringing our final end ever near.”1 And yet, despite the “commonness” of death, most people prefer not to talk about it. There seems to be a kind of natural aversion to death. If we had our choice, we’d much rather celebrate the birth of a new child or the wedding of a close friend.
“The closest thing we uncover to a near-death experience in Scripture is Stephen’s martyrdom in the book of Acts. … we find Stephen’s eyes being open to events in heaven just before he was killed.” - AiG
“The famous sentences ‘No man is an island’ and ‘the bell tolls [for] thee’ are excerpted from the same meditation: ‘No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
“I’ve nothing against celebrating the life of a servant of the Lord Jesus. We ought to honor faithful followers of Jesus for finishing their race. We ought to challenge those in attendance to “let [their] manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” And yet I wonder: does this desire to celebrate life grow out of a stronger desire to avoid death?” - Jason Allen
By Jordan Standridge. Reposted from The Cripplegate.
Funerals are a gift from God. I know that sounds crazy, but they are a God-given tool to force us to reflect on the brevity of life, and how finite we are as human beings. I truly do believe that humans should attend as many funerals as possible during their lives. It is that good for your soul.
I had the privilege of attending two recently, and they could not have been more different from each other.
