I have participated in far too many funerals for my age. Every single one of those ceremonies is intended to honor the memory of the one who passed and to help the surviving loved ones deal with their grief. A funeral is one of the most profound moments of humanity; it is during these moments when we focus on what is truly important to us.
Let me tell you something incredibly important. Not one of those funerals mentioned how much money the deceased had earned. There was not one mention of the final total in the checking account or how many assets were in the portfolio. Very few of the services even mentioned what the person did for a living.
Instead, family members and loved ones share stories and memories from good times in the past. They speak of challenges that were overcome together. They relate values their cherished loved one held dear to his or her heart. They speak of faith. More often than not, there is focus on generosity in both time and love.
There is something about this that speaks to our core. We have been trained from birth to think life is about getting all we can get, yet that path leaves us unfulfilled. Everything inside of us screams there must be more to life than this. Your heart is giving you insight into a spiritual truth. The sum of your life is not found in what you get; it is found in what you give. We are not put on earth to consume; instead, God asks us to contribute. Giving is the most practical expression of love because a person cannot love without giving. It is impossible.
This Sunday, March 2nd, Higher Calling will be having a special offering. We are trying to raise $10,000 above and beyond our normal offering so we can reach out into our community. The money will fund advertisements and outreach resources, primarily in the form of a mailer to be delivered in the week before Easter. I am asking for your support for this offering. Together, we can reach our community with the love of God!
Don’t ever fall for the trap of thinking life is about the acquisition of things because that path will only lead to disillusion. None of the things you acquire will have any significance to you when you evaluate the impact of your life. What will matter is the contribution you have made in the lives of others and for the
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1 comment:
I appreciate your comments and agree on how we tend to express what really counts at a funeral. I think funerals are a rare opportunity to bring life to it's proper prospective since many do give thought to their own death (or life which every way they veiw it). Church, at times, can be almost to enabling for those who want to "just feel good about them selves" as I have done at times, myself. Funerals give people the opportunity to face the reality of life & can bring people to a place of honesty with themselves and God which is what I feel giving is all about. Being honest and having "honest scales" as the Bible puts it, comes from the true desire to seek relationship with God in it's fullest measure. Without giving, there is no complete surrender to God's will for our lives. Some how we have mixed up the true value of what a person stands for in life but God always calls us to look at what really matters when that person's life is over. Why do we have to wait for a funeral to measure a person true self worth? It's never been about what money we can make. It's always been about the impact that money can have for God's purpose. And it's never going to be about what you have in accumilated "things or social status. It will always be about what you use those things for and how you used your status to inspire and enfluence those around you for God's glory. I pray for the offering in a way that brings truth into my life knowing that we have been given a wonderful opportunity to place more value on Jesus, our community and congregation rather than ourselves. Some how this seems more right than people thinking about what we could be doing at someone's funeral.
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