THE HOUSE OF MOURNING

Ecclesiastes 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

I had the honor and privilege to attend the funeral of a great man of God today. That man is Dr. Lee Roberson. Dr. Roberson had a profound impact upon my life. I attended Tennessee Temple Elementary and High School, both of which were founded by him. I was blessed to sit under his preaching many times as a young boy and as an adult. I remember one occasion as a young boy getting Dr. Lee to sign my Bible after hearing him preach a sermon at the Highland Park Baptist Church. I remember in recent years hearing him preach and even running into him at local restaurants. He was a man of God and I am grateful that he left such a powerful legacy behind for young preachers like myself to follow.

Looking back at this verse in Ecclesiastes 7:2, I wonder why it is better to go to the house of mourning than to a party? I think we would all agree that we would personally prefer to be at a party than a wake. I would much rather have gone to a meeting today to hear Dr. Roberson preach, than to have attended his funeral. Funerals are depressing. They are morbid by nature. They do not make it onto our new years resolution lists. How many of us have ever made a new years resolution that says, " I'd like to attend more funerals this year"? Hopefully, none of us would ever say that. But this verse tells us that it is beneficial to spend time at the funeral home. I believe there are many reasons for this, but I simply want to point out a few.

1. It is beneficial because of our FRAILTY.

We need to be reminded that we are not promised tomorrow. We have the tendency to assume the best about our future. We'd all like to think that we have all the time in the world when, the truth is, we could be gone in just a few moments. The verse tells us, "that is the end of all men". We are all going to die, most sooner than later. We are not promised tomorrow. Death has a way of pulling our masks off. We like to parade around as if life were some cosmic Halloween party where we all have to dress up and pretend to be our favorite superhero. We like to think we are invincible, but all men cower in the presence of death. We may know we are going to a better place, but we still are not looking for the fastest way there. Death reminds us that we are weak and frail. Apart from the grace of God and his resurrection power we would be destined for and to an eternity of death. It is because of Jesus that we have the promise of eternal life and the resurrection from the dead.

2. It is beneficial because of our FOCUS.

We all fall short when it comes to our focus. We are told in God's word to live for eternity, yet we act as if the here and now is all that matters. We seek after the things of this world at a frantic pace and treat the eternal things of God as if they were secondary... ordinary. We must stay focused on the life that never ends. Life on earth is a vapour. It's here and then gone. We are going to live somewhere forever and ever and ever. Does it not make better sense to focus on the greatest investment for our time, efforts, and affections? The text says, "the living will lay it to his heart". As I sat in my pew today I was reminded of my frailty and challenged to focus on what really matters. As good of a preacher as Dr. Lee was while he was alive, his corpse preached the most provocative sermon ever expounded to the human heart. I listened to one of his audio sermons online tonight entitled "Get right with God" and it was masterful, but he spoke far more to me in his death than he ever did in life. It was a divine object lesson. We all die! It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgement. We die once... but we live forever. We should live a focused life, not a morbid life, but a focused life that is constantly aware of the possibility of death and constantly preparing for the life after death.

3. It is beneficial because of our FUTURE.

We are reminded of our frailty and our focus is corrected for one reason. So that we can do something about it. Knowledge without action is useless! We must not leave the graveside the same way that we arrived. God spoke to my heart today about the importance of giving my all for the cause of Christ. I was challenged by Dr. Lee Roberson's passion, vision, dedication, faithfulness, holiness, boldness, faith, compassion, and his ardent love for his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that one day I will be the one in the casket and I want to be remembered as one who lived for something greater than himself. I want my life to bring glory to God. That is the only thing worth living for, HIS GLORY. I want every second of my life, today and tomorrow, to exclaim HIS worth. I may have a day or I may live to be 97 like Dr. Roberson, but I plan to live every day I'm given in his service.

Lord, You are God alone. You alone deserve my praise. You are the only thing worth living for. You sometimes have to shake our very foundations to wake us up and remind us that You are everything and we are nothing. Father, in the precious name of Jesus, I ask you to continue and finish this work that you have started in me. I am not satisfied with where I am. Take me, break me, mold me, and make me, I want to do your will, oh, God. Thank you for loving me, saving me, and keeping me. You are everything to me.