Funeral (Celebration) For A Long-Time Member

One of the ways in which the Apostle Paul supported his ministry was through donations from the various churches, but his main income came from the work of his own two hands. Paul made and mended tents. It required a lot of time and patience, so Paul had a lot of time to think about things … about God … about Jesus … about the churches that he help found. One day he looked at the tent he was making and he realized that these bodies that we live in are a lot like the tent that he was mending … a skin covering that provides a home for the life, the spirit, that lives within them.

The people who lived in tents in Paul’s day were nomads and shepherds. Their tents were their only homes, something that they could take with them as they moved from place to place. Sitting there, Paul got to thinking about how our bodies are “like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever. While we are here on earth, we sigh because we want to live in that heavenly home. We want to put it on like clothes and not be naked. These tents we now live in are like a heavy burden, and we groan. But we don't do this just because we want to leave these bodies that will die. It is because we want to change them for bodies that will never die. God is the one who makes all this possible. He has given us His Spirit to make us certain He will do it. … As long as we are in these bodies, we are away from the Lord” (2nd Corinthians 5:1-5,7).

Linda’s tent served as a home for her soul, her spirit, for the divine spark that was uniquely hers for 73 years. While her spirit is eternal, her ‘tent’ … her body … had grown worn and weary and was no longer providing her with the comfort and shelter that she needed. On Tuesday the Ultimate Tent Maker … the One who made her first tent … called her spirit home to give her a new tent … a new body. What kind of body? As long as we’re in these tents, these bodies, we can only speculate and guess but we can be sure of one thing … they won’t be like these bodies or these tents that we live in now. These bodies are perishable … our new bodies with be imperishable … eternal … forever. Our new, imperishable, eternal bodies will be strong and powerful compared to the bodies that we live in now, which are frail and weak compared to the new bodies that we will receive when we discard the ones that we have now. I agree with Paul. After we live out our time in these physical bodies as Linda and countless others have, I believe that we will be given a “spiritual” body … a glorious body, an eternal and immortal body.

Linda has left her frail and broken body behind, and with it she has also left behind many things. She left behind a husband that she loved … and still loves. She left behind a family … children and grandchildren whom she loved and still loves. She left behind friends whom she loved and still loves. She left behind her church and her church family, which she loved and still loves.

She left behind sitting around the table, watching and listening as family and friends talk and laugh and enjoy the meal that she prepared. She left behind the joy of sitting in a warm house watching the rain or snow fall outside. She left behind picking up her grandchildren after school and asking them about their day. She left behind cheering them on or consoling them for their performance on the playing field. She left behind laughing and kidding around with those whom she loved. She left behind falling asleep in the arms of her loved one at night. She left behind looking into the eyes of unconditional love as a puppy snuggles in her lap. She left behind so many wonderful things … but there are other things, not so wonderful things, that she also left behind. She left behind pain. She left behind a failing body. She left behind broken dreams. She left behind disappointment, despair, and heartache.

She left behind fear. When the Apostle John described his vision of the Heavenly City, he described the gates of the Heavenly City as always being open because nothing dangerous, nothing “unclean,” nothing threatening can or will ever enter the Heavenly City.