Saturday, March 11, 2006

Message in the Funeral of an Elegant Lady

Today I went to the funeral of a lovely, gracious, and elegant lady.  She’s the kind of lady of whom one person at the funeral said, “She’s the closest thing to royalty I’ve known.”  Everyone who knew her, and especially those who spoke of her at the service, saw her as one of the classiest people they ever knew.

They spoke of her as a high school teacher with two master degrees.  They spoke of her love of literature, of art, of music, of theater.  They spoke of her extensive travels to Europe, Asia, and South America.

They also spoke of her love of Jesus, of her strong faith, of her sharing in the ministry of her husband of 53 years.  The two songs her husband requested to be sung were “Amazing Grace” and “When My Life’s Work Is Over”, whose chorus ends with “I shall know Him by the nail prints in His hands”.

You see, in the end, it really doesn’t matter who it is.  Even someone as elegant as she, who would be at home in the most sophisticated company in the world, needs the grace and redemption that comes from the One whose hands were nailed to the cross.  

Her life was a living testimony to her Lord.  Her funeral was a message to everyone present—when life is over all that matters is whether you lived your faith as if it were real and whether the faith you have is in what is Real.

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