Death’s Honor

– May 26, 2017 – 

Death is always an emotional event. My question is how do we honor the ones that we feel we have lost? This is a prideful statement.

I say prideful because we haven’t lost them, they are not misplaced like a set of keys. We hold them in our hearts and in our memories. We honor them by remembering them as we go about our days. This is a grieving process, and time will heal the wound into a scar.

We dishonor them when we stop living our lives to the best of our abilities. We dishonor them by staying anchored in the pool of grief. We dishonor them by picking at the wound so it won’t fully heal.

As I read this morning, I was reminded of how often we hear about our elderly who have lived full lives, but live their last time on earth just hanging on. Is this out of fear of the unknown, or fear that they have forgotten something, or fear that they might miss something? In any case, they are just hanging on; hanging onto the door knob of death’s door.

If they we’re able to think clearly, they surely wouldn’t want us to honor them by remembering them this way. I’ve heard many stories of people passing when their loved ones tell them, “it’s ok to go.”

As Dylan Thomas wrote, “Do not go gentle into that good night,” in my opinion, he’s really saying, go boldly and do not be timid to walk through that door. In timidity, there is no honor.

We will honor our loved ones when we seek God’s favor. God is with us in good times and bad. He will strengthen us day by day and give us what we need. Seeking Him again and again each new day.

(Photos of Our Daily Bread daily devotionals)