A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. - Ecclesiastes 7:1
23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, - Philippians 1:23-25
Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Church in Riverside, California, was having lunch with Billy Graham. Ruth, Billy’s wife, had made a classic southern lunch of fried chicken, collard greens, and the works. It was Greg’s first time to meet Billy Graham; he was nervous. Greg says, “I had many questions swimming through my mind.” One question stood out: “Billy, if you knew as a younger preacher what you know today, would you emphasize anything more as a younger preacher that you find yourself emphasizing today?” Without missing a beat, Billy Graham responded, “I would preach more on the cross and on the blood. That is where the power is.” 1
This power that Billy Graham is speaking of is what Paul referred to in Philippians 3:10 as the message of Easter.
10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10 - 11
The message of Easter – it’s wrapped up in those two verses. Simple and life changing, it offers eternal hope for all who believe.
We live in the “politically correct” age of avoiding straight talk and reality. We have become so cautious of how we phrase our statements that we often fail to give the truth. Statements that have a touch of harshness or a sharp edge are often replaced with softer diplomatic terms so as not to tick people off. Words such as sin have almost been whitened out of the dictionary. In hospital circles where people are dying you rarely hear a medical professional use the word dead. When I visited with the doctors and nurses that cared for my dad before he passed away, I was shocked with the struggle they had to use the word death in our discussions. We dumb down cancer. We redefine people and behaviors with terms such as “alternative lifestyle.” Why? Humans prefer to be deceived and lied to rather than told the truth. T.S. Elliot said it best, “humans cannot bear too much reality.”2 When it comes to reality we must make sure we get it right at Easter because our whole future is at stake.
Cosmetic surgery, airbrushed photos, it’s hard to find out what is real these days. More than ever we must find and follow truth regardless of the blow we take to the head.
There is only one place to look where sin is called sin, a spade is called a spade, and adultery is treated as adultery. The Bible is the only book that tells it like it really is. No one gets off the hook because of privilege. Each story paints a graphic picture of the shortcomings of the players. No other book helps us come to grips with reality better than the Bible. The Bible never minimizes. The Bible never redefines. The Bible never looks the other way.
Someone has said, “We should only read books that bite and sting us.” He went on to say, “If reading it does not arouse us with a blow to the head, then why read it?”3 When we read God’s word we get a lot of blows to the head. This Easter I feel compelled to draw our attention to the resurrection by tying it to one of these “blows to the head” texts that comes from the life of Solomon.
I don’t know of any more realistic account of man’s struggles than the book of Ecclesiastes. Chapter after chapter the writer goes right for the jugular, exposing our excuses and missteps in full, living color. Solomon reminds us of this simple truth in life - some people with the greatest talents never quite measure up and fully use those talents. Solomon was such an individual.
The first three chapters of the book of Ecclesiastes are characterized by the phrase, “I have seen” and “I said to myself” and underscore a life driven by a human perspective not a heavenly perspective. In Solomon’s journal, which we call the book of Ecclesiastes, he sees everything as barren and a big waste of time (futile emptiness). His mental outlook on life is not sad - he is downright mad. He looks over life and sees nothing but injustice piled upon injustice.
As we creep closer to the edge of panic, we either cry out to God or cry out against God. If our life is not surrendered to faith in Jesus Christ, we will slip into cynicism. All Solomon’s observations lack a perspective and purpose designed by God. For a couple of chapters, Solomon trudges through the muck of life and at best can only muster up a humanistic response to the question, what is the meaning of life?
19Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 3:19
A Change In Scenery
Then, beginning with chapter seven of Ecclesiastes, the spiritual landscape changes. Solomon’s humanistic perspective is put aside for a heavenly outlook. In the second half of the book the word for wisdom and wise shows up no less than 35 times. Solomon is starting the journey home and although his journey is long he is finally pointed in the right direction.
Along with Solomon’s change of perspective comes his change in writing style. He goes from the narrative approach to the proverbial style. As we look at the first in a series of proverbs, you may discover a fresh view of life and get a glimpse of how Solomon began his journey home.
The first proverb sets us back on our heels with a fastball, high and inside, because we Americans celebrate birthdays but we mourn death-days. I believe this verse is the key to Solomon’s heart change, his new perspective. This verse is the hinge of the door that Solomon’s fresh start swings on.
A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. - Ecclesiastes 7:1
This is one of those great resurrection scriptures that never make it into Easter sermons. Congratulations Solomon, you are a winner this year. As Christians and seekers, our faith and future stands or falls on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us of the consequences of rejecting the resurrection, and they are significant:
“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is in vain….If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17)
If Solomon had not realized and accepted the truth of the resurrection, there would have been no change in the way he looked at life. For the early Christians Jesus’ resurrection was an historical fact, every bit as real as his death on the Cross. Without the resurrection, Christianity would simply be false. Without a resurrection, the cold, hard, facts would remain - Jesus was dead, and all that He started, all He said and did, died with Him.
Each of the four Gospels closes with a description of Jesus’ death and burial after his crucifixion. They also include an account of his empty tomb. Many of His appearances after the resurrection are documented, including an occasion where over 500 people saw the Savior. Even the Apostle Paul who converted to Christ about three years after His death gives a partial list of people who had seen Jesus alive after the resurrection.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
Paul and Solomon are saying the same thing based on a future hope of resurrection:
If I had it my way, I’d rather be out of this life and start my new one in eternity with God. I’d rather be with God than hanging around with you. I would rather be beyond this world of tears, fears, and suffering and enjoying the presence of Jesus Christ. Simply put the best is yet to come, after your death day, instead of the painful, stress-filled life you live after your birthday. What connects your birthday to your death day? The hope of resurrection. If you have personal faith in Christ, you can make that type of declaration. You can live with that type of hope.
This proverb sounds like it fits better in the book of Proverbs than Ecclesiastes. It comes kicking and screaming to the top of the list offering unusual comparisons: a good name lasts; fine perfume is temporary; our birthday, which starts our life, is temporary, and our death-day, which begins our eternity, is forever.
What a contrast in events. One has shouts of “Happy Birthday,” singing, gifts, cake and candles, and lots of laughter. The flip side of the equation is filled with sorrow, a funeral procession, and mourning loved ones. How can one’s death-day be better than their birthday? Let me suggest three ways:
1. Your death-day is better than your birthday because of release.
As Solomon has said, God has hot-wired our brains so we are interested in living forever. Today you will make 100’s of choices about your life - what to wear, how to act, where to eat. In eternity we are given only two options - Heaven or hell.
Never forget friend, your destiny is eternity and your home is Heaven. Psalm 119:19, reminds us that, “I am just here on earth for just a little while.” (TEV)
Built into each person is a longing for Heaven and release from this life. Paul reminds us in Romans 8 of the desire for release:
…creation groans for release (vs. 22)
…we groan for release (vs. 23)
…the Spirit groans (vs. 26)
On a deathbed or in a wheel chair in a retirement community, the Christian longs for the end. The end is really the beginning and it offers release. Release from temptation. Release from a body of pain. Release from mental illness. Let go body. That spirit and soul is longing for the Creator. A new home and a new body await the child of God. Let go family. Your loved one is ready for release. Nothing on this planet can thwart or block man’s desire for release.
The reason our death-day is better than our birthday is because of RELEASE.
2. Your death-day is better than your birthday because of revelation.
We are blessed with incredible teachers of God’s word in America. We have tapes, CD’s, Christian radio and television, Christian books, and hundreds of conferences. “Insight for Living” has Chuck Swindoll and “Church on the Way” has Jack Hayford. The Purpose-Driven Life has made Christianity come alive for millions. (One Sunday in church I accidentally said, “The Purpose-Driven Wife.”) God’s people have a flood of experiences that offer revelation of God’s word - Max Lucado’s views on the Cross, the Christian fiction of C.S. Lewis, James Dobson and Focus on the Family. (As one child said, “Pocus in the fanny.”)
But as good as the revelation is for the Christian, at best it is secondhand revelation. The reason our death-day is better than our birthday is because of revelation. When we get to Heaven we’ll learn from Moses. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. The mystery of the Church will come alive with Paul. The Bible says, “When we see him we will be like him.”
The reason our death-day is better than our birthday is because of REVELATION.
3. Your death-day is better than YOUR birthday because of relationship.
Our earthly relationships are so temporary. God is looking forward to an eternal family. One of the great longings of the human heart is to connect, to attach, to love and be loved. The need to be with people is as strong as our need for air and water. This need marks us from the nursery to the nursing home. “Call it clan, tribe, network, or a family,” says Jane Howard, “whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”
For many relationships come easy. Others feel like the deck is stacked against them. When it comes to relationships, we are often not very kind when we come in contact with those who face physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges. Give us nice, clean, “normal” person any day. In a fast-paced world of microwave ovens and instant messaging, we are not very forgiving to those who lag behind.
The single most significant barrier to real relationships in the 21st century is the pace of life, the issue of time.
Is it possible to listen in a hurry?
Is it possible to mourn in a hurry?
Is it possible to celebrate in a hurry?
Is it possible to laugh, love, and learn in a hurry?
Is it possible to resolve conflict in a hurry?
There is no way to carry another’s mat when you are in a hurry.
The reason our death-day is better than our birthday is because of relationships. In eternity we will possess an unlimited quantity of time to enjoy each other. The reason our death-day is better than our birthday is because Heaven will offer relationships unencumbered by the constraints of time. I cannot wait.
My oldest son loves to read. His mom gets the credit for that. She has a ferocious appetite for reading, (as well as being extremely beautiful). One of the first series of books Kenny read was the children’s version of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. The seventh book is entitled The Last Battle. I have taken it out of my son’s library and added it to mine. I use it as a part of the benediction for celebration of life services (funerals) for Christians. It is those last couples of paragraphs that paint a vivid analogy of our future after the resurrection. Thank you to my church family for the opportunity to offer hope these last 13 years as I have stood with many of you as we have said, “not good-bye, but see you tomorrow.”
Your resurrection, Friend, offers you this future:
“The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.
As he spoke he no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write about them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page:
…now, at last, they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before. (5)
