Ahh! What a title, Happy at a funeral!
If I’m happy at a funeral, does that mean I’m cold-hearted, care-less, dispassionate, or sense-less? No. Not at all. Quite the opposite.
I was at a funeral recently and for the few hours in the morning before the funeral, I was really emotional. I am not usually really emotional. But I knew what was going on…
I went for a walk to pray for the family and friends who would be attending. I called several of our prayer team to pray. I had a strong faith-filled sense that this funeral was going to be significant for many people attending.
I didn’t know the beautiful woman who had passed away. But I knew her daughter and son-in-law, who had been in our church almost ten years. They had been praying for ten years for their family’s salvation.
Just days before the lady’s passing, her son-in-law prayed with her and she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.
This was the hope and joy in my heart–all morning–and the sense that God was about to do so much more…
During the funeral, I cried and cried. I couldn’t stop, even though I tried. The Holy Spirit was powerfully present.
Normally, funeral’s are somber. Grief and loss set the atmosphere. But this was so different. Indomitable hope pierced the usual funeral mood.
As the message was given and the gospel preached, person after person responded to give their lives to Jesus. Many of them were family members of the lady who had just graduated to heaven. There were over 150 people and no less than 1/3 of them made decisions to follow Jesus!
Heaven was partying.
So at that funeral? Yep, I was happy…
