USGN Article - July 2005
Written by Terry Franklin

"Familiar With Funerals"

One of the many changes in modern American life is that we are no longer facing death as frequently as those did just a few generations ago. We can thank God that breakthroughs in the medical field now allow us to view common illnesses such as the flu, as simply routine annoyances. This same illness, technically known as Influenza, killed thousands of people at one time.

Looking through a genealogy of my mom’s side of the family (the Sharpes), I was amazed to find how many in previous times died young. If a couple had 7 or 8 kids, the chances were high that 2 or 3 would not live to be teenagers. And lots of folks didn’t live past 50. Many, even the young, were well acquainted with the heavy air of the funeral parlor, as well as the tear-stained red dirt of the burial plot. A Yellow Fever outbreak across Alabama and Mississippi in the late 1800s took many of my ancestors. It may have taken some of yours, too.

Truth is, we’ve lost something of the temporary nature of life in America and most of western society. If you still have children at home, how many funerals have they attended? Ask a person over 70 how many they attended by the time they were your children’s age? More than likely there is quite a difference.

Folks in years past were familiar with death. Even youngsters knew the proper etiquette of dealing with the dying. Perhaps you’ve observed that many today won’t even pull their car over to the shoulder; showing proper respect to a passing hearse and funeral party. This is a shame. Like not answering a ringing telephone, many would prefer to act unaware of death, illustrating an overall disconnect with the clear reality that death is real, it is certain, and it is coming…for all of us.

“Terry, you’re getting a little dark on us this month?” you might be saying. But truth is, we must live today as if we were to die today. If everything were stripped from your life: your possessions, talent, money, career, friends and even health – what would you have left? If you still have Jesus, you have everything. And it was this faith in the Son of God that caused previous generations to rise above their circumstances… even when facing death. Are we living with a daily awareness of death….and a bold confidence in Christ’s power dwelling in us by the power of the Holy Spirit? “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8.

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