It seems the obituary section is the most-read portion of a newspaper, according to data collected by Legacy.com. Something attracts readers to a page that exists to offer brief summaries of the lives of deceased individuals. Perhaps morbid curiosity drives traffic to the obituary pages. Maybe readers look there to ensure they have not missed the announcement of the passing of a dear friend or an old neighbor.
It could be something else altogether; in fact, I believe it is. The wise man says in Ecclesiastes 7:2, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” The obituary section of the newspaper forces readers to face several truths.
Death comes to all. The author of Hebrews states, “it is appointed for man to die once.” Unless the Lord comes back first, we will all eventually die.
Death comes in many ways. Some people die young, some people die old. Some people die from protracted diseases, while others perish suddenly. Some people die in spite of their devotion to health and fitness, while others die because of careless decisions or addiction. The obituary section includes them all.
A person’s life becomes his or her legacy. While presiding over funerals, I have often said a person’s life cannot be summed up in a few sentences. I believe that with all of my heart. At the same time, I recognize that the actions we take impact other people. Others see how we live our lives. When we die, we often leave evidence of even those things we thought we might have kept secret.
When I was a child, my parents frequently took me and my siblings to the funeral home for visitations. We attended a large congregation, and one consequence of that was knowing lots of people, young and old. When you know a lot of people, you experience a lot of death. I hope it doesn’t sound morbid or disrespectful. I’m thankful my parents took me to the funeral home and did not shield me from death. I learned about how God’s people grieve and rejoice when a Christian leaves this temporary life for eternity.
Take it to heart, dear reader. Sometimes we need to think about death. We need to recognize that it will come, and it could come at any moment. And we need to know that when it does, our lives will be examined. When that happens, will Christ be at your side, advocating on your behalf (1 John 2:1–6)?
Clay Leonard
