Why Be Buried With a Fork in Your Hand
There was a woman who had been told she only had 3 months to live. Her doctor recommended that she start making preparations to die. And so, she contacted her Pastor to talk about her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral,
what scriptures she would like read, and what she wanted to be wearing. The woman also told her Pastor that she wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible. And when everything seemed to be in order and the Pastor was getting ready to leave, the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. She said, "There’s one more thing that I want you to do for me. This is very important," the woman said. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The Pastor looked at the woman, not knowing what to say. And the woman said, "That shocks you, doesn’t it?" The Pastor replied, "Well, to be honest, I don’t understand why you want a fork in your right hand." The woman explained. "In all my years of going to
church socials and functions where food was involved, my favorite part was when whoever was clearing away the dishes of the main course would lean over and say ’you can keep your fork.’ That was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming. When they told me to keep my fork, I knew that something wonderful was about to be given to me. It wasn’t going to be Jell-O or pudding. It was going to be cake or chocolate pie. Something with substance. And so, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand, and I want them to wonder ’What’s with the fork?’"
Then I want you to tell them: ’Something better is coming so hold onto your fork."’
Oh dear friends, when you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you can be assured that something better is coming. And that is a world where Jesus is King. It will be a world without fear. It will be a world of joy and peace and contentment and love. It will be a world renewed and restored by Jesus Christ. And so, no matter what trouble or trial you may be facing right now, do not despair. Do not be afraid. Something better is coming for those who love Jesus.
From a sermon by Les Puryear, Something Better is Coming, 6/1/2010