I once traveled to a little country cemetery in North Texas for the funeral service of a dear friend. The little community was like a thousand others. It was once alive with people, but today only an isolated farmhouse punctuates the horizon here and there. The old school has long since been torn down. The little country church is still there, but no one meets in it any more. The cemetery is overgrown and unkempt. As I walked among the tombstones and read the epitaphs I was reminded again of the Psalmist when he said, “As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more” (Psalms 103:15-16).
I was almost tempted to despair when I remembered the words of Jesus: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). There in the presence of death I was reminded again of the significance of life. Three things came to my mind:
1. We ought to enjoy every day. God has given us today; let’s make the most of it. Let’s fill it with joy, happiness, love, and kindness. Life is too short for hatred, anger, greed, selfishness, and an unforgiving spirit. Make the most of your allotted days for your allotment may soon run out.
2. Live so that there will be no regrets. If you buried your nearest and dearest today, could you live without regret and guilt? Or would you remember some unkind word or deed and be forever sorry for it? Would you regret that you had not expressed your love one more time? If you would have regrets, go and make amends now. Pick up a phone or better still make a visit and make amends with that person right now. Don’t put it off. The longer you delay, the less likely you are to do it.
3. Accept Christ today. Jesus has conquered death and the grave. He met death in hand-to-hand combat and came out the victor. He said, “Because I live you shall live also.” Do you believe in Christ? If so, death holds no dread for you. It is not your master and you need not be afraid of it.