Most funerals are either sad, very sad or joyful occasions. When I say joyful, I mean if the deceased had invited Christ into their lives during the time they were alive, they are in fact with their Saviour, and if given the chance to return to earth, they would decline. The people left behind are sad and happy at the same time. Sad because the departed one is no longer with them and happy because their loved one is with The Lord. The really sad funerals are the ones where the departed had no time for Christ during their lives, having ignored the message of the Gospel. Their friends and family attend the funeral and sing songs of a religious nature and make out that everything is ok and that the departed one is now out of pain, no longer suffering and now at peace, when nothing could be further from the truth! I recently attended a funeral of someone I had never met in person. It was one of the best funeral services I have ever been to, simply because the Pastor told us that the deceased was a Christian and was with her Saviour. He then went on to preach the Gospel to all who attended the funeral. He urged everyone who had not responded to the message of the Cross to do so without delay. We then sang the following beautiful hymn. I urge you to read the words and meditate on them. They have changed many a life simply because they point to the One who gave His life that we might live.
IN CHRIST ALONE
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
Stuart Townend and Keith Getty