April 6
To No One’s Sorrow
[King Jehoram] reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. ––2 Chronicles 21:20, nkjv
Have you ever thought about your life from death backwards? Imagine your funeral for a second. Who is there? Who isn’t there? Who would you like to be there?
Morbid? A little, maybe, but also a sobering and informative thought. What kind of funeral do you want? I don’t know about you, but I really want the wake afterward to be a joyous, fun event. I’m not talking DJ and dance floor, but definitely funny stories being told by my friends and family, with lots of laughter.
The average-sized funeral in the US is 36 people. I don’t know about you, but that number seems a little depressing to me. Of course, a lot depends upon how old you are when you die. For instance, if you die at 95, very few of your friends will be around—or mobile enough—to attend. That’s compared to, say, someone who dies in their 60s with a lot of living friends and relatives.
One guy who died very badly was King Jehoram, one of the sons of Jehoshaphat. (Yes, there was a guy named Jehoshaphat in the Bible. It’s not just a saying from old movies … as in “jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!”). Jehoram “did evil in the sight of the Lord,” had all his brothers murdered to secure his throne, and worshipped foreign gods. God struck him with a disease that ate away at his intestines and he died in great pain, and no one mourned him.
I can’t imagine dying “to no one’s sorrow” and no one showing up for the funeral. And not only that, they didn’t even give him a king’s memorial.
Man of God, when you think with the end in mind (i.e., what you want people to say about you when you die), it puts things in sobering perspective. Believe me, at 60, it’s crazy how fast the decades fly by. What relationships need mending? To whom do you owe an apology? What friend have you drifted away from? What promises have gone unfulfilled (or broken) that need healing? Don’t wait. Reach out now. Today.
Father, help me live with the end in mind, living each day—today—as the only one I have. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is uncertain. Help me treasure who, what, and where I am right now.