Our family walked to the store recently. The day was bright but cool and the kids collected rocks as they walked. After the first turn in the road, I announced that we would take a quick stroll through the cemetery. We are currently on break at SIL’s missionary base in the Highlands, called Ukarumpa. We visit the cemetery every time we come, some would say it has become a Lehman tradition.
The cemetery is positioned between towering pine trees on a slopped hill. We left the main road, crossed over a muddy trench and started climbing the hill. Lorie and I walked over to a rectangular pile of stones that marked out the gravesite of a child. The kids followed behind, playing with fallen tree branches along the way. I told the kids to look at the gravesite and said, “This is where each one of us will end up.” The response was a mixed bag; Knox was smiling, Greer was sneezing and Belle had an expression of apathy. Not the response I was hoping for, but also not unexpected.
Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.”1 The preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes says “it is better” or “there is more benefit” in going to the house of mourning, “for this is the end of all mankind.” This passage has it’s eye on a funeral service, but it has implications for a stroll through the cemetery. Death and the grave are powerful teachers.
A headstone to ponder
As we continued walking amongst the graves, we read the headstones. Some quoted Bible verses, others just had a name with the date of birth and death. There were some that had no headstone, the stone outline was all that remained. After traversing the majority of the cemetery, we came to the particular headstone that Lorie and I were seeking. It reads, “From this place, the body of our son will be raised to eternal life when Jesus comes to claim his own.” That is a declaration of future triumph.
That gravesite contains bones. It’s lifeless. The person buried there has no strength, no power and no ability to do anything. There is no sight, no sound and no taste for those bones. Death reigns over that gravesite. Yet, the individuals that wrote that headstone believed in another reality; their loved one will be raised again. And not just that, they believe he will be raised from this very place, where only his bones reside. Their believe is not unsubstantiated.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians. Chapter 15 proclaims that the dead will be resurrected. Yes, those who die will be raised to life again. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, “51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”2. Death and the grave are simply a “waiting period” for Christians, before they will put on immortality, living with their king, Jesus Christ forever.
I’m writing these things to Christians, those who have faith in Jesus Christ for salvation from their sins. Do you view death and the grave this way? We must take the time to feast our eyes on the cemeteries around us, remembering that death will come to all of us. There is a day coming when our time will expire. The bucket will be “kicked.” These realities should change they way we “mourn”, knowing that death is not the end. They should also change the way we view time. Remember, it’s short. Be mindful of how you spend it.
1: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ec 7:2.
2: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 15:51–52.
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