Funeral thoughts

So, today was a funeral for a good buddy of mine from Maxey. Duane was one of those guys who never met a stranger and was always doing for others. His passion was cooking. Or grilling to be exact. Great guy. I have a fabulous picture of him behind the grill of chicken and corn at one of our field days. Priceless.

My wonderings are of funerals for people who are not believers, or who I don't know if they are or aren't. I have no idea what Duane's faith consisted of, if anything. I do think that his sister was a Christian based on some of the things she posted on his hospital webpage. And, I would never assume to know anyone's heart. That is all up to God. In fact, I've met quite a few fellow believers who I would never have guessed had an ounce of faith based on things I see them say and do. But, I have only been to one funeral in my life for someone who had no faith. It was a long time ago and I don't remember much. What I do remember is the hopelessness. His adult daughters and wife were throwing themselves on the casket just wailing and sobbing. Horrible. I wonder what it's like to feel that. The flipside to that is that I'm glad I don't know what that's like. But, what about all the things people say to get through? "He's in a better place. He's not in pain anymore. He's with God now. We'll see him again someday." What if the deceased don't believe? Then none of that is true. Is it fair to say those things just to make people feel better? Oh, my head just aches trying to wrap my head around it. I can remember Pastor Alberta's sermon at Dwain Park's funeral. WOW! What guts. He was all about making people understand. I guess he use to say that he felt like it was a captive audience and for some, the only time they would ever set foot in church. Probably accurate.

So, tonight I will continue to pray for Duane's family. For comfort and maybe even coming to know Christ if they don't already. And, maybe (selfishly) most importantly, I wil praise God that I don't have those questions for myself or my family.