Right in the middle of mourning a death, I'm given the opportunity to share the gospel, basically free from distraction, with multiple lost people all at the same time.
This is what happens at a funeral. This is what happened today.This past Sunday a sweet, Christian lady in our church passed away. She was 89-years-old. Today I had the privilege of preaching at her funeral.
Most of the time I preach, the people I'm preaching to are already saved or at least think they are (that's a topic for a different post). When I preach at funerals, I get the chance to proclaim the gospel to many people who almost never set foot inside a church building. At a funeral, these folks are usually very attentive because they cannot avoid issues of life and death.
This morning I preached from II Corinthians 5:1-8. I stressed the hope we have in death: being absent from this present physical body and being at home with Lord Jesus in heaven.
What I had sitting in front of me was a captive audience. I was basically given a "free shot" with the gospel. Please don't misunderstand. I wasn't hoping or expecting that anyone would get saved during the service. I was hoping that people who had never heard the gospel before (or had not heard it in a long time) would clearly hear and comprehend it today.
I think that happened.
It is ironic that people who I could never ordinarily preach to were forced, probably in an uncomfortable manner for some, to hear the gospel today.
So the death of a saint can lead to that saint's family hearing the good news of their salvation.
Life is strange and interesting.
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