I have the opportunity, at times, to attend funerals of those who were friends or relatives of members of our church. Sometimes I am glad to hear the gospel clearly given and the Lord honored. However, at other times I am quite disappointed with what passes as a Christian funeral.
I have been to several funerals where the emphasis of the funeral was on the hope of seeing our friends and loved-ones again. Now, I don’t mind people taking comfort in the fact that their loved one is in heaven and they will see that person again. On the other hand, I am deeply grieved at this being the focus of the funeral. Our hope of eternity in heaven is based on Christ. It is because Christ, the God-man, took on humanity that he could be our redeemer. It is because he perfectly satisfied his Father with his obedient life and sacrificial, substitutionary death (Romans 3:24–26) that we have a righteous standing before God. Christ is the author and finisher of our faith and he ought to be the focus of our faith and our hope. Our expectant looking forward to being with our Savior God should be the hope to which we cling. When this hope is left out of a Christian funeral service, such a service is evacuated of its Christian message and comfort. At its core, turning the focus from Christ to humanity (we will have a family reunion in heaven someday), is to skip over the gospel message that is our hope; the gospel message that makes it so that we do not sorrow as those who have no hope (1 Thess 4:13). We must not move the focus of our funeral services away from the gospel and to our friendships and familial love. To do so is to take the Christian element out of a Christian funeral.
As I have observed some of these funerals, I realized that the pastors or family members conducting them have minimized Christ. They have demoted him in their minds from the focus of heaven (Rev 22:1–5), to a celestial event planner who will sit in the background and will host all of our sentimental reunions with friends and family. This not only removes the foundation of our hope, but exalts God’s good gifts of friendship and family love at the expense of demoting Christ our Savior.
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