A Life Well Lived

For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.  (Psalm 39:12 ESV)

I’m going to a funeral today. I wish I wasn’t. It’s raining and dreary today; dreary and sad like the weeks preceding this day. I went into my study early this morning and sat down with my tea and my Bible, picked up my little devotional and was directed to Psalm 39. 

This verse on this day - only God. For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.  

My stepson has gone home. His sojourn on this earth has ended and he’s seeing sights that our wildest imaginings couldn’t begin to describe. 

I love the song, “I Am a Poor, Wayfaring Stranger”. While the tune and the words have a sad, haunting quality, they speak to the hope and the promise that we, as believers, hold on to. As Christians, we face death and loss with a whirlwind of emotions: grief, tears, anger, along with joy, hope, peace and a sense of celebration. They are normal and should be walked through and, I think, embraced. It’s how we honor our loved ones.

I believe the Lord honors our grief. He understands it, experiences it with us and is our comfort through it. Grief is normal and a gift. We celebrate the life that was lived on this earth, we celebrate the fact that our loved one is healed, whole and with the Lord. We celebrate; we grieve. We recall the wonderful memories, laughter and fun times – and we grieve. What a contradiction! 

Without the hope we have because of Jesus, we would be lost:

Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

And he [Jesus] said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

The verse from Psalm 39 reminds us that while we are a sojourner, a guest in this world, we are not alone. We journey with our Savior. We are his guest. We are also his gift.

The life we will celebrate today was a gift – to his family, friends, co-workers and church family. A life well lived. A gift that will keep on giving. A gift that brought glory to the Giver.