Immortality* - Celine Dion

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.

Ecclesiastes 7v2 (NIV)

I almost din go for the service this morning. After all, i really din know him that well. I mean, everyone (in my church circle) knew who Eric Kirton was. I've spoken to him a couple of times - usually during church retreats or after meetings which he spoke at. But tt's about it.

But i do know Colin well. And i know that if the roles were reversed, i'd be really touched if he came.

Funny how God works - you try to do something for someone else and you end up being blessed. Well, it's funny that i shud still find it funny after all that i've experienced!!!

The above Bible verse was a quote made by King Solomon - and no one can doubt the wisdom in his words even til today. There's something very sobering about attending a funeral service. It's a reminder of our mortality - that one day, all of us will die and be fertilisers for daffodils. It's a wake-up call to start living our life to its fullest, to seize the day and every opportunity that comes our way. It's also a time when we recall God's grace and goodness.

Yet, at the same time, it reminds us of our immortality. Our physical life may end one day, but our spirits will live on forever - and we can be clothed wif new bodies too!

I've never dreaded attending Christian funeral services - it's always so filled wif hope, wif joy. Sure, we mourn for the loss of the physical presence of our brother or sister. It kills us (pun not intended) that he or she will no longer be wif us, that we can hear their voice no longer, feel their touch no more, to not be able to laugh together wif them... not in this lifetime. Tears will be shed - but it's the kinda tears shed at airports and farewells, altho multiplied a few times.

But we take time to recall wonderful memories - and thank God for them.

It also fills us wif comfort and joy as we know that the departed person has gone to a better place - and its only a matter of time before that one sweet day when we will be reunited again, in the presence of God, and be together, forever.

Tombstone in Glasgow

* This song was composed by the Gibb brothers specifically for Ms Dion - and they can be heard singing bck-up vocals. It hit no. 5 in the UK but was never released as a single in the States.