"It is better to go the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." [Ecclesiastes 7:2-4]
I had the privilege of attending a funeral yesterday. Yes, it was a privilege. As the funeral progressed, I found myself reflecting on the verse above. Going to the house of mourning is extremely helpful. It reminds us what our end is. It helps us with our walk. God gave us these ceremonies, funerals, as a gift to strengthen us and remind us of eternity. The wise man's heart is constantly reflecting on and living for eternity.
Today, we see a lot of gayety, always trying to find out how we can have fun. We are always looking forward to the next fun time, but Solomon is communicating something different. He is not saying that having a good time is wrong. He is not saying that you should not be joyful; however, if one is to be preferred above the other, we should much prefer the house of mourning than to the house of feasting.
Also, Solomon says something very interesting here. He says, "Sorrow is better than laugther: for by the sadness of the countenance, the heart is made better." Wow. When one is sorrowful, they are often very contemplative and thoughtful. In Titus 2, Paul exhort Titus to sobriety. There is a certain sobriety that comes with sadness.
There is another portion of Scripture that helps us understand this statement by Solomon. Second Corinthians says, "We are sorrowful, but always rejoicing." So, though we sorrow, we have great hope. Though we are sad, we have great joy. God is completely sovereign and ordains all things for our good, even funerals.
One other point...the funeral yesterday was for a young man that was a wonderful Christian. He lived His life for God. Some may ask, "why did God take this thirteen year old boy?" Well, while we don't know the exact reason why God decided to take him, we do know that God sometimes takes the strongest of the believers, to give the church an example, to wake them up, to make them step up to the plate. To ask questions like, "What am I doing with my life?" "What will people remember me by? "What will be written on my grave stone?" The person of whose funeral I was attending prepared a message that was to be played during this occasion. During the short video message, he asked, "What are you investing your life in? Are you investing in the things of Heaven or the things of earth?" You can imagine watching this young boy that can't even smile because of the cancer, ask you that. It really makes you think. He was trying to communicate the need to redeem the time. A few years back, Michael Moede, was listening to a very good speaker talk about the need for redeeming the time. After Michael heard this message, he purposed to give up video games, which he had played one hour a week. He gave them up for two years. Now, imagine a person that you know is dead and that died at thirteen, telling you to redeem the time because life is very short. I can't communicate what it means to have that testimony before me. Praise the Lord for giving us such an example.
May the Lord richly bless you.
I had the privilege of attending a funeral yesterday. Yes, it was a privilege. As the funeral progressed, I found myself reflecting on the verse above. Going to the house of mourning is extremely helpful. It reminds us what our end is. It helps us with our walk. God gave us these ceremonies, funerals, as a gift to strengthen us and remind us of eternity. The wise man's heart is constantly reflecting on and living for eternity.
Today, we see a lot of gayety, always trying to find out how we can have fun. We are always looking forward to the next fun time, but Solomon is communicating something different. He is not saying that having a good time is wrong. He is not saying that you should not be joyful; however, if one is to be preferred above the other, we should much prefer the house of mourning than to the house of feasting.
Also, Solomon says something very interesting here. He says, "Sorrow is better than laugther: for by the sadness of the countenance, the heart is made better." Wow. When one is sorrowful, they are often very contemplative and thoughtful. In Titus 2, Paul exhort Titus to sobriety. There is a certain sobriety that comes with sadness.
There is another portion of Scripture that helps us understand this statement by Solomon. Second Corinthians says, "We are sorrowful, but always rejoicing." So, though we sorrow, we have great hope. Though we are sad, we have great joy. God is completely sovereign and ordains all things for our good, even funerals.
One other point...the funeral yesterday was for a young man that was a wonderful Christian. He lived His life for God. Some may ask, "why did God take this thirteen year old boy?" Well, while we don't know the exact reason why God decided to take him, we do know that God sometimes takes the strongest of the believers, to give the church an example, to wake them up, to make them step up to the plate. To ask questions like, "What am I doing with my life?" "What will people remember me by? "What will be written on my grave stone?" The person of whose funeral I was attending prepared a message that was to be played during this occasion. During the short video message, he asked, "What are you investing your life in? Are you investing in the things of Heaven or the things of earth?" You can imagine watching this young boy that can't even smile because of the cancer, ask you that. It really makes you think. He was trying to communicate the need to redeem the time. A few years back, Michael Moede, was listening to a very good speaker talk about the need for redeeming the time. After Michael heard this message, he purposed to give up video games, which he had played one hour a week. He gave them up for two years. Now, imagine a person that you know is dead and that died at thirteen, telling you to redeem the time because life is very short. I can't communicate what it means to have that testimony before me. Praise the Lord for giving us such an example.
May the Lord richly bless you.
Soli Deo Gloria
Thank you, Benjamin. This is glorious.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Andrew; I met you briefly at Liberty Day 2011. I've been paging through your blog posts and it's been wonderfully encouraging. It's really encouraging to see other young men using the blogosphere to communicate the glory of Christ and the passion of Christian manhood.
Stand Fast,
Andrew R.