The End

Yesterday my wife and I attended the funeral of a friend that we will miss dearly. We still hear the echo of his deep voice in our ears, singing to the God he loved and served so well for so long. We will carry the memory of his smile and kind words with us as a precious treasure for the rest of our lives.

It’s hard to say goodbye.

It’s hard, but we need to do it. We need to remember, and grieve. We need to look back with thankfulness and look forward with hope.

But who can dare to look forward at a funeral?
Who can see beyond the finality of death?

There is only one hope big enough for that kind of vision, and it can only come from the one man who walked out of his own grave. For those who find hope in Jesus, that hope changes everything.

Even our funerals.

The End

Our hope
Is not the kind that fades away
When we have to say
Goodbye

Our joy
Is not the sort that lasts a day
Yet fails when falls the night

Our light
Will not go out while Jesus lives
(He cannot die again)

Our story
Like our Lord’s, will end
Yet in that ending, will begin

Our confidence
Outlasts despair and now
Despair is the imposter
So
Our laughter
Will not end in tears—
Our tears will end in laughter

We do not
Pass through life to end in death
We pass through death to end in
Life.